Aida Haron

And we have a winner !!

2013-05-11T13:29:56Z

Hello everyone. It's that time to draw a winner, and I am excited to be able to give this gift away.

And the winner is :

It's : Fentilizer.
Please email me at : aidaville@yahoo.com.sg with your contact so I can get the gift to you soon.

Thank you everyone for playing along, I wish you all the happiest of Mother's Day ever !

*xoxoxo* Aida

Random Sunday ......

2013-05-05T11:20:18Z

Today was fun and it reminded me how important it was to connect with people outside of work, just to do something we love. Often we forget when things pile up, when there are deadlines ........ that we need to breathe and go away for a few moments.

It was Bookbinding class with CY Chen, blessed with an abundance of good nature, talent and humour, with Justina the host at her little store Our Craft Place. It was good to craft with easy people who offered laughs and new perspectives during the conversation. All of it was relaxing and homely, no pressure.

Then it was home to complete a project for Mother's Day. Lately I've been hooked on making these 8*x8* altered MDF tiles as well as trying to use the ephemera in the large box where they are kept. Thankfully I'm not buying as much paper as before and have been making dents into the mediums on the shelf.

You may like to know : On the 8th May 6am PST (Singapore time 7pm 8th May), there will be a tutorial on the Sizzix Blog of a similar project like the one above. I will take you through the steps to creating your own Mother's Day MDF Tile. Remember to check the Sizzix Blog on that day ok ? If you don't have any Sizzix products, don't worry as you might find the embossing and gilding useful.

The last week has been hard for me with a chesty cold and cough. Unfortunately there is no one else to teach the classes, and even medicated to the eyeballs, I really have to thank the scrappers who put up with my hacking episodes. All this made me wonder if work was worth the trouble ? I love making art stuff, love the pretty paper and the products, I enjoy the interaction with the scrappers but deadlines, working when I am sick ....... well it does get too much. What I need now is to take a good look at what I want ........... if I am happy ........are there alternatives ?

Life is a constant landscape of changes and whatever comes, I believe as long as we have faith in ourselves, our skills and abilities, often another door will open. Maybe not immediately, but it's okay.

I know there has been more traffic lately on my Blog via Sizzix, thank you so much for coming by, Have a wonderful week ahead !!

*xoxoxo* Aida

Sizzix product :

Happiness is ....

2013-04-26T06:48:38Z

Hello everyone, how have you been ? Gosh, it's been a busy 2 weeks for me and I've been lagging at Blog-world !

This is a project for a co-worker and friend who was leaving to teach art in a pre-school. I wanted a project that felt happy and kid-like, mostly to remind her to make time for herself to *play* with art.

The Sizziz products were essential as they helped create the 3D layered look. Here's the list of the products I used and if you click on the names, it will take you to Sixxiz.com where you will get the descriptions and prices. They are :

Vagabond, Alterations Mover and shapers Postage Frame
Alterations Bigz Pediments, Alterations Movers and Shapers Styled Labels

Other products : Ideology Tissue, Elle's Studio cut outs, K&CO ephemera, Jenni Bowlin Journal Tags Silhouette #2, Webster's Pages Cameo, Prima Chipboard, Claudine Helmuth Acylic paints and multi medium.

Thank you for stopping by !!

*xoxoxo* Aida

Layering with Sizzix die-cuts.

2013-04-18T06:39:30Z

Hello everyone ! Today I worked on a layout with Sizzix die-cut elements.

When I tell scrappers I use Sizzix die-cuts for projects, sometimes the question of how to make a layout look current comes up. The perception is that die-cuts are old fashioned and not keeping up fast enough with the trends in paper crafting. Whether you use handmade die-cuts or pre-packeted ones, there are ways to make your layout look current. Use papers that are in fairly new collections is one way of making your layout feel trendy and fresh, and the other is to use die-cuts that have a current shape.

Stamp edges are one of the newer popular designs sparked by travel themed, document styled products and I just LOVE the Movers and shapers Postage Stamp Frame. The edges of the die-cut can be used for smaller layers.

I splattered the base cardstock with Glimmer Glaze (Plumeria and Sea Kelp) and after that dried, you can see how I used pattern papers die-cut into postage stamp frames to create layers.

The title of the layout is 15, my daughter's age when the photograph was taken. Number dies are very useful and this Bigz Alphabet Set 2 Dies Serif Essentials will fit in with most scrapping styles.

This is how the number looks on the top corner of the photo.

I also die-cut brackets using the Movers and Shapers Magnetic Set 2pk Mini Labels Set for additional layers. This is the bottom of the photo.

Details in the top right corner.

Layering your die-cuts with other embellishments such as wood veneers, buttons, bottle toppers, sequined lace and Prima flowers creates interest and makes the layout more substantial in terms of style.

Sizzix die-cuts are very versatile and I hope this post has given you more ideas on how to use them for creating layers in your project.

Thank you for coming by !

*xoxoxo* Aida

Class at Vivocity .....

2013-04-15T14:39:03Z

Here are sneaks for Secret Garden workshop at Vivocity Paper Market. This workshop will continue into May, see you there !!

Thank you for stopping by !

*xoxoxo* Aida

Expectations that bind.

2013-04-11T01:09:32Z

Started this at 6.50am. Maybe I will title this as *Bound* ?

A few things have been rattling in my mind, mostly about people and how we react to expectations or conditions that surround us. Everyone wants to feel valued, liked, trusted, rewarded for good work with positive words. Life is not always about dollars and cents or calculating a profit and while money is an essential component to our lives, for myself it's not the most important driving force. I would prefer a life inspired and surrounded by people with a generous spirit, an openness to differences, kindness without any agenda, honest creativity ........ humor and the ability to laugh at themselves.

We only have an amount of time to live ....... isn't it important for life to be filled with the positive ?

Products : Claudine Helmuth acrylic paints (Tranditional Tan, Dab of Yellow, Painterly Pink, Sky Blue, Blanket White), Luminarte (Solar Gold), Sharpie Marker, Washi tapes (MT, Prima and Ideology).

Friends Layout and Morning Madness.

2013-04-07T23:21:54Z

This is on the Paper Market Blog At Home with Aida. I've always loved Simple Stories and Vintage Bliss is so pretty !!

Monday is always a dread for many of us. It's the 5.45am crawl out of bed and I imagine most mums in Singapore with kids in school have similar schedules. Sometimes things conspire to make morning a mess : the missing student train card (EZlink), a book not found ........ ballet slippers that needed mending but forgotten over the weekend ........ a school project which is missing pages. These days I try to remain calm because at 16 years old, I must believe Nura is capable of packing for school and anything else that's missing, she must deal with the consequences. I would like to bring up kids who understand they are responsible for their stuff, to not ask me when something is missing, who work at prioritising their lives and schedules (school stuff before a friend's party please !), who are considerate enough to remember while mum and dad are in charge of the big picture management (like paying bills and keeping a roof over out heads, food on the table) and we all must work together to make sure everyone moves forward.

So, every Monday morning I take a big, deep breath........ imagine myself in a boat surrounded by a sea of calm ........remember it takes only a hour before everyone is out the door, and peace settles over the home again.

xoxoxo, Aida.

Be Brave Today .......

2013-04-07T01:08:10Z

It's on the Sizzix Blog !!

This project was made with my older daughter in mind. She has just finished with Polytechnic and is now unsure where she wants to go. Should she take a break and work for a year ........ or straight to university ? Aside from talking over the options with her, I cannot make the choices, she has to be brave and take a leap of faith into her own future.

** As it turned out, she was offered a job with a well known music production studio, the ideal job she dared not hope she'd get. We are very happy for her, things are looking up ! **

Have a wonderful Sunday !!

xoxoxo, Aida

Sizzix Design Team 2013 !

2013-04-01T14:30:32Z

Thrilled ....... and truly honored, thank you so much Sizzix and Tammy Tutterow. Am looking forward to a
fabulous year ahead !!

We are all here : http://sizzixblog.blogspot.sg/ , visit our Blogs to see some amazing work with Sizzix products !

Simple and Clean with Sizzix !

2013-04-01T14:16:06Z

I've heard this a few times .... *oh I am just a simple scrapper ...* said apologetically.

In Singapore, many prefer the layers of fussy cutting, popped up pages and they are perfectly right to love that. But this kinda leaves us simpler scrappers out in the cold, with that sinking feeling our pages are less artistic, perceived with less scrapbook value because we used less *stuff*. All I say is : there's room for every type of scrapper ...... so just SCRAP !! Keep those memories, whether you use the latest stuff or use what you already have ...... just scrap.

When Webster's Pages announced Alison Kreft was designing for them, we all waited with much anticipation for the new collections. Then it all arrived in Singapore, I got myself some of it and here is what I did.

I love the light, fresh feel of the designs with much of its journal sheets skewed towards Project Lifers. Still, they were good for layouts, the journal sheets can be used as background layering. And yellow is one of my favorite colors, it just feels so happy and positive !!

Being invited to be on the Sizzix US Team is such an honor, honestly there wasn't the slightest inking my Blog and Instagrams were followed. I am thoroughly thrilled to be back using Sizzix products to create !!! For this layout, here's what I used : Alterations Bell Jar with Pedestal, Frame Fancy, Frame Flower 3D. You can also click on the images.

It's all good ..... I think .......

2013-04-01T02:44:21Z

As usual my scrap table is in a mess, I'm working and refereeing 2 cats in on-going fights ....... and keeping the new kitty away from the guinea pigs (not totally sure if she thinks of them as play things or food).

This face is adorable, but she has the mind and attitude of a toddler with full-on terrible twos.

Every month there is a window of time when all the work is done, schedules are out, I get a space to ..... well ...... breathe ! It was supposed to be lunch with scrapping girlfriends but yesterday my ears started ringing, the aches crept up on me. Our two girls had colds and I just thought myself lucky to have missed the bug .......NOT !! So lunch is out, it's rest and lots of fluids.

Tomorrow will be a long day with a workshop in a school, and I need to be able to deal with that.

There's exciting news I will be sharing soon, come visit tomorrow !!

Little canvas pieces.

2013-03-25T14:20:06Z

It's wonderful to work on small projects as they are easy to fill with embellishments and the size makes for less stress. These were the 2 canvases I made for the Paper Market Blog At Home with Aida and if you need to find out how I made them, just click *HERE*.

I've been asked how to make these canvases and really, it's just about going with the flow. When I begin, I don't worry too much about the finished outcome as the intention is to enjoy the process, textures and color. While there are times when I like pale or monochromatic palettes, I usually love color in my projects. For the first piece, the cupid stamp and the flowers in the basket die cut were my cues and I worked from there. The second piece, the 7 Gypsies tag "Right Now" led the way for an aged look, with lilac color pops from the Prima flowers and butterfly ephemera. The girl on the swing was a last minute whimsical addition to the piece.

It's important to enjoy what we do. When we tell ourselves consciously to relax, to meander, explore and find the fun, we nearly always end up being pleasantly surprised by the results. No where more than Singapore are we are so intently focused on the end product that we often forget the journey, the little details, the small joys and successes are just as essential to rounding our emotions and perceptions.

Hope your week started well and will continue to be so !

aidaharon @ 2013-03-18T17:31:00

2013-03-18T09:31:32Z

This is a layout I made for Paper Market. The colors are really pale and the textured background gives it an interesting look.

More details are *HERE*.

Thank you for coming by !

Art Journal On the Paper Market Blog.

2013-03-11T04:39:42Z

Sometimes I feel like the luckiest person in the world ! Currently alot of stuff is going right for me and for all this I am very thankful. Yes there will be incidences that annoy, irritate or disappoint us and we often let them blur all the goodness surrounding us. This page expresses how I feel and the light, fresh colors hopeful and happy.

For details of how I made this, go *HERE*.

Have a great week ahead !

Paper Market Blog, At Home with Aida

2013-03-03T23:01:02Z

Hey scrappers, every Monday the past few weeks I've been on Paper Market's Blog ! It's where I share projects made for the store and scrappy tips you might find useful,

Hop on over if you'd like to see the steps in making this project.

Thanks for coming by, have a good Monday !

Adjustments ....

2013-03-03T09:07:48Z

A whole month of February has passed ....... and I'm reeling from the work adjustments, to a new schedule as well as new people. Most of it is good, though classes still need to pick up, I still need to tweak the work samples as the scrappers are very different to those I was previously used to. It's almost as if I have to re-learn what I know to be able to pitch work at the level needed for newer scrappers, yet make sure the pieces have enough complexities to avoid looking too simple.

Singaporean scrappers equate simple as *no value* ........... even when they have very little understanding of balance and composition.

Oh well ......... that is life ? We adjust, we find things that work and get on with it !

Here are a few personal projects I made the past weeks .....

A re-purposed tag I added to a canvas for a friend not seen for over 25 years.

And another page for my Art Journal ....

Be back soon, have a great week ahead !

Another post at Paper Market ...

2013-02-17T12:59:44Z

Check in tomorrow for Monday's tutorial At Home with Aida at the Paper Market Blog. I really enjoyed making the chipboard jewelery and you will too !!

Here's the pic :

Have a wonderful week ahead ....... and let's all collectively wish for sun, no break downs on the MRT lines please !

xoxoxo ....Aida

Dream Big ....

2013-02-10T20:00:07Z

Do you have dreams about doing and being everything you wanted to be ? This layout is about my daughter who at 12 years old knew she wanted to dance. It became more than a social thing, and it was the time she realised how it took hard work and in some ways, a little lonely as there are not that many girls who feel the same way.

My Mind's Eye continues to be the brand I love working with most because of the huge variety in every collection, there's always more than one that appeals to me. This time I've used Collectable's Memorable. You will find My Mind's Eye at Paper Market and in the store's Blog post At Home with Aida is a photo tutorial on how to create the splatters on the layout.

The details :

It is the Chinese Lunar New Year and I hope those celebrating it are enjoying the festivities. The weather is wet, be careful out there !

xoxoxo ...... Aida

My Mind's Eye and Hello !

2013-01-30T00:35:31Z

If there is a brand I love and find really easy to work with would be My Mind's Eye ! Together with Gossamer Blue, a Guest Designer call and this is my layout below. I was lucky enough to get the new Collectable by Jen Allyson and it's all really pretty !!

Hello, life is a Journey :

Other layouts using My Mind's Eye :

Thank you for dropping by, I hope you like the layouts, I loved making them !

*xoxoxo* ...... Aida

Messy Home ....... growing and hopes for 2013.

2012-12-31T04:38:02Z

I don't run the neatest home : my own mother gives me plenty of notice when one of the aunts plans to visit (just enough time to throw everything into the spare room) ..... we sometimes can't find our things, mystery boxes are everywhere because I cannot remember what I packed in them ..... the cats think we are a wonderland of hidden, hard to reach nooks especially when it's time to catch them for a bath.

But I hope this is a happy home, where stuff that matters gets priority ....... a home we are glad to come back to after a long tiring day because here everyone is important and is loved, is heard even when they act like grumpy bears. Below is a page about about us ..... even in our unlovely facets, we all grow with love. Acceptance makes us more able to soar when we are not held back by rigid, unreasonable expectations.

I don't usually make resolutions aside from 1) to try my best each day 2) to see the home free of clutter. Here's wishing you a Happy 2013, that all you've wished and dreamed for comes true.

***************************************************************************************

Love what you do ....

2012-12-30T08:11:38Z

It's the final Sunday for 2013, what a quick year this has been !

For me, the new year will be a start of a new job, continuing what I love which are paper and art projects ..... so much to be happy and thankful for. When I say thankful, I REALLY_MEAN_THIS ! Life throws at us so many curve balls - we come across negativity, meanness and cruelty, pettiness ..... all conspiring to make our days a hard drudge sometimes. What do you do ? Laying down admitting defeat is not an option, self centered pity parties are unattractive and useless.

I choose to be hopeful, to look at what we have and KNOW we have enough. There are no free lunches, but we can reap tremendous goodwill by positive attitudes, effort, open minds and consideration ...... opportunities are more likely to come our way.

Art Journals are visual expressions of how we feel, to me they are liberating ..... they aren't always pretty, sometimes they are angry or dark. They're not meant to impress anyone .... there's scrapbooking for that **hahaha !!** .... and it's not planned, just a way of putting feelings into a page as a record of life events. The page below is dedicated to my daughter who in three months will finish with Poly and move off into the working world. University is still in the hazy horizon.

** Thank you Steph for the washi tape !! **

We are very proud of the young woman Stasha has become. She is sensible, kind and loving, with street smarts gained from exposure to working with adults and the indie music community. She sparkles with excitement at the many choices life ahead will bring - possibility of work in a production house, bassist with 2 bands and her commitment to working with abandoned animals in a shelter. We've always reminded her it's important to love what she does, to accomplish tasks set, to enjoy the practical results of success (money and promotions) without buying into the pretensions of ego and vanity or society's expectations. We don't need her to be a doctor, lawyer or a rich entrepreneur .......... we just want her to be her own person, certain about walking confidently in her own path, to find value and happiness in what she does, to do the right thing in any situation.

Have a wonderful New Year, may 2013 bring many good things !

Play .......

2012-12-29T02:27:13Z

Yes it's important to laugh (at ourselves)..... to see the funny bone of life ...... to play.

Have a good weekend all !!

Gratitude ...

2012-12-24T05:50:14Z

The question : Gratitude = Happiness ?

I often wonder about what makes us happy. Am I happy ? Is being happy a habit that can be cultivated ? Are we too busy to have time to find happiness ? For 2013, I would like to be able to tick off the list below because I KNOW I would be happier.

1) Remember all the kindnesses shown to me.

2) Be gentler with my family - often we forget to treat people we love with respect and with a gentleness, to speak with courtesy.

3) I have raised my 2 girls to the best of my abilities, with what I know.

4) Even with challenges, my husband has always tried his best to provide for us.

5) Believe I have talent, no matter at what level I am, be happy I am creative AND creating stuff I love.

6) Want less ..... being happy is not linked to having things. The way I see it : constantly wanting, craving stuff stirs up envy, dissatisfaction and creates mental clutter. It blinds us to the possibilities of what we already have. This is really hard to do in Singapore with reminders at every turn that being successful is about money and things.

7) We can only do our best ..... and it is NOT our burden to prove people wrong when they choose to dishonor our intentions, laugh at or make less of them.

8) Live more in the moment and let go of what has past.

What will make you happy ? What will you do to get there ?

This January ........

2012-12-21T03:45:57Z

Hello everyone ! Thank you so much for the positive comments on Facebook, it so appreciated, you've all made me very thankful there is still an audience to what I do. Here's rolling out the complete sneaks of the projects in January 2013 at Paper Market Raffles City

Heart Life
Featuring a wonderful 7" X 9" chipboard album by Farmhouse Paper Company, altered in an elegant mix of red, black and cream with vintage gold highlights. Learn how to make a metal heart embellishment from scratch, and create a surprise stowage inside the album.

Shabby Love

Three layouts in a shabby style, with layers and details you will love in tones of soft taupe, sweet pinks and blues. Each layout requires 2 4R photos which means you take home layouts containing 6 photos of your special moments, a great way of using those photos you've been saving.

Paper Market class schedules will be out after Christmas, watch out for them.

Thank you for coming by, see you there !

Moving ahead .....

2012-12-17T02:52:51Z

Life can certainly be sweet sometimes ......

I've had a break of almost 2 and the half months, it was good, a chance to do things I wanted, essential to getting a fresh perspective on where I want to go.

In whatever situation, everyone needs to move on, to work ...... to new environments ...... many of us CANNOT just sit at home day in and day out, we need to be doing something ? Structure is important, whether it's work or managing the school schedules and other activities for the girls ........ as much as I LOVE creating stuff at home, work gives me an income of my own and some amount of pride at being able to contribute to the family.

Starting January 2013, work will now be with Paper Market as a Designer/Educator and I am totally stoked, thrilled to be joining the UBER talented, popular paper crafters of the store !! Singapore is small, the crafting community of Educators even smaller, and being invited to teach at Paper Market is one journey I am truly excited about. Crafting for workshops invloves set elements very different from creating personally and being able to pool my experience with the other Educators would be a blast ! Nothing is more inspiring and energising than a new creative environment.

For the scrappers who already know me, how and what I teach, it will be wonderful to see you all again at the workshops. Many ideas and projects are popping in my head just waiting to be translated into workshops which you hopefully will like.

Paper Market Class Schedules for January will be out end of December so be sure you check them out !

Glad you stopped by, have a great week ahead !