Month: January 2013

With This I Thee Wed … or Something of the Likes

Published by Sula H.

I told you that I was going a friend’s wedding this weekend, and here’s the proof! And since we’re talking of weddings, it reminds me: have I ever told you about weddings in this corner of the world? Well, one thing I can assure you – they’re very different from a German wedding, or any other Western type wedding for that matter. For one, they’re usually over by around 2, 2:30 pm in the afternoon. But of course, they start earlier. The real ceremonial part takes place early in the morning (about 6 am) in private, in the bride’s home (without the family of the bridegroom), and the official part is just all about giving exchanging presents (yes, the couple is required to give presents to the parents, but then they also receive the present of an apartment and a whole lot of cash by the parents of both parties). Anyhow, the main part is the big lunch meal, and then everyone disperses, bride and bridegroom change, go home and spend the rest of the …

Of Train Rides and Such

Published by Sula H.

Traveling by train in China is a very peculiar thing. The first challenge you’ll have to master is obtaining a train ticket, which can get really tricky. On that part, I was lucky this time, because my friend booked our tickets online, so I didn’t have to bother about it. It was also unlucky, however, because the only train tickets he could get was tickets for an overnight train, and I never sleep well on trains. It further was unlucky, because my name doesn’t go well with the Chinese system, and however that worked out, but as soon as we’d gotten on the train, someone had figured there was something fishy about us. Because we hardly had sat down, when a train officer stopped by to check about the names on our tickets. (Now note: the average train ticket doesn’t have a name on it, and ours only did, because my friend had booked it online.) The problem was that the name on the train tickets (which were the correct names according to us) were …

P2D: This Is Everyday

Published by Sula H.

Let’s get back to paper to digi business. I went on a search for another nice traditional scrapbook page to scraplift, and found myself this:     And because I liked this page, I took it as the basis for a page of my own, and out came this … This Is Everyday Now, see, the beauty of scraplifting is that you don’t have to everything exactly according to the original layout. You have that which is called “creative freedom!” For me, that creative freedom usually looks like this: I find myself a pretty page I like, and I use it as a springboard for inspiration. Usually, however, the end result turns out really different, because either add extra things to my page, or take away what was on the original. The end result is a page that reflects your own personality and scrapping style. Despite it being “merely” a scraplift. Now it’s your turn! Why don’t you go and find yourself a pretty page from one of the traditional scrapbooking galleries and start working …

On the Road Again

Published by Sula H.

Guess what! This weekend one of my friends is getting married, and for me that means getting ready for another trip. It also means that I’ll be heading out some time this afternoon and I’ll be spending the night on a train. That in turn means it’s something I’m not quite looking forward to. Trains and nights and me don’t usually match well together, which also means that I’m about to experience a very tiring weekend. But at least it’s a wedding, and I’ll get to see one of my friends again, whom I haven’t seen in a long time. That counts for something, doesn’t it?

digital scrapbooking freebie, Misty Hilltops Designs

Freebie Friday: A Cozy Christmas – Part 5

Published by Sula H.

Yippieeeh! Late (as always, lately), but here it is! The last installment of “A Cozy Christmas!” Now you can go off and scrap your not yet scrapped Christmas memories. (I still got tons of them, which I’ll probably never get to scrap!) Anyhow, since this is the last part of this kit, it’s about time for me to announce what I have up my sleeves, next! Yes, yes, there’s more to come, and I’ve been busy busy designing lately, figuring out how things work on that side of the scrapbooking art, and I’m happy to share with you a peek at the next kit I have for you: “A Cup Full of Winter” is my third kit I’ve created for you, and it’s again jam-packed with goodies of all sorts. (And I should express a heartfelt “Thanks” to my mom who actually keeps contributing by sending me pictures of things from her home that I can extract! So all of you, who get to play with this in a couple of weeks, say: Thank you, …

An Anniversary

Published by Sula H.

Today is a special day for me. It marks the anniversary of my move to China. Yet once more do I look back to all the things I’ve been able to learn from these people since I first arrived here. And I’m thankful for how this experience has enriched my life!