A double-pager CNY spread

 

Almost forgot about this double-page CNY spread.... (apologies for the photo...the weather has been rainy and gloomy and dark).

Big thanks to my cousin's husband Tim for the photos. I was busy in the kitchen so he sent me the pictures he took so I could get them scrapbooked. :)

As always, the kids (nephews and niece) stole the show with their cute faces and smiles.

Very happy to have incorporated my CNY decor in my layout. :)

Happy weekend friends!

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My sister's birthday party 2021

 

So back in early January, we celebrated my sister's birthday with the whole family...marking a new year, and new beginnings for her. :)

As usual, it was hard to get the Gangster Gang (3 nephews + 1 niece) to pose nicely for a photo. Yep,,,this would be the best one. *LOL*

Luckily for me, my sister obliged me by posing with each of the dishes I made for her birthday party. Well, you know there was no way I would be able to get all the food on the table, arrange it nicely for a photo shoot and take some lovely IG-worthy foodporn photos before family members start eating the stuff right. This will do. *winks*

Since this was a double-page spread, I tied the pages together with the same patterned papers, doiley, lace trim, chipboard and washi tape - the green vine and the pink text bits.

Did you spot the cute little birdies? 

Playing along with More Than Words. 

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My world of food prep

 

The past few months of stay-at-home cooking has made me a lot more savvy when it comes to food prep. :) It is a lot of work but I'm a make-it-from-scratch kind of gal. *winks*

I have "spare" food in the freezer for a quick brekkie/afternoon tea/snack...like unbaked cookies/scones. I always make an extra portion of pastry dough to freeze for a galette or chicken pie. And of course, there are varieties of frozen sourdough bread too.

I usually make a whole stock pot of chicken broth. It takes half the day to simmer but totally worth the effort. I take the meat off the bones once it's cooked so that I can use it for a quick weekday pasta lunch/salad. Then the bones go back into the pot to simmer for a few more hours. All I add is some onions, carrots, apple cider vinegar (to extract the calcium from the bones) and some salt. 

Once the broth is ready, I strain half of it into bottles to be refrigerated for the week and the rest goes into freezer-safe containers then into the freezer for later use. I use the chicken broth to make my own pasta sauce or a base for a quick tomato/carrot soup.

The Yams have a sweet tooth so I will make a week's worth of snacks that are conveniently packed into individual boxes in the fridge for a quick grab and go for those who are headed to school/work. I switch up the ingredients regularly so I don't bored making stuff and the family gets excited about a new flavour profile. :)

What about you? What is your meal prep process like?

Playing along with Stick It Down.

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Family fun in Orchard Road

Back in December, my sister and I went to Sephora in Orchard Road (Singapore's downtown shopping belt) for a Kenzo fragrance event and decided to bring the folks along to enjoy the Christmas lights.

We didn't get great photos because of the flashing coloured lights along the streets. Plus there were queues to take photos (yep...the folks had to queue to sit in the Christmas carriage..hehe).

But we did stop for Godiva ice-cream cones! 

And yes, your girl went into the highly neglected drawer of border punches yet again...*Go me!*

Playing along with Stick It Down.

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How to create a double page spread...a tutorial

A double page spread is a great way to either fit in more photos or incorporate larger photos while still having space to embellish your spread in a pleasing manner. However, it can be intimidating because you are working on covering a much larger surface and you want the pages to relate to each other in a cohesive manner.

If you are new to creating double page spreads, the easiest way to start is to use the same base paper - either the same colour cardstock or 2 sheets of patterned paper of the same design.

On this layout, I went with 2 sheets of patterned paper of the same design. I used a more muted base paper to really make the photos pop.

Extra tip #1: You can use different base patterned papers if you don't have 2 sheets of the same design. As long as they coordinate, they would be pleasing to the eye.

Extra tip #2: Use papers from a paper pack because they are designed to coordinate.

To ensure continuity between the pages, I used the same elements on both pages. Like the houndstooth paper and the Christmas lights. I matched up the Christmas lights at the center to tie the pages together.

I find it much easier to work on one page at a time instead of both pages simultaneously because I like my pages to be able to stand alone if they ever got separated. Also, working on a single page makes the task at hand a little less daunting.

Once I'm happy with the general layout of both pages, then I work on deliberate ways to tie the spread together through embellishments.

Photos don't have to be put in the same position on both pages. Here on this page, I tilted one of the photos to create more interest (and make it less noticeable as the photos are of different sizes...hehe).

Repeated elements on both pages help guide the eye from left to right, contributing to the overall cohesiveness of the pages.  Like the tags on both pages. Even though they are not exactly the same, they are quite similar (twine and cupcake). Or the ribbon tabs. And wax seals.

I also anchored the pages by adding a strip of yellow cardstock plus red washi tape at the bottom left  (page 1) and top right (page 2) edges to help with the cohesiveness of the overall design.

I used pops of red on both pages to help guide the eye along  the pages as well.

There you have it..how to create a double page...according to me. *winks*

Do you like creating double page spreads? What is your modus operandi for creating great double page spreads? Please share!

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