Search This Blog

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Wedding Cards

I have finally completed a client's wedding card designs. The cards were printed out, packaged and delivered this afternoon yay! It has taken 3 months and thankfully, they were happy with the second artwork that was presented and since then, it was just a matter of tweaking the details.

This couple were having their nuptials in Koh Samui, lucky kids. I had to include a map, tropical accents while keeping it simple. Here it is.



I created a small logo for them too, very simplistic but they are using it as thank you tags.

The scalloped punches I bought ages ago finally got to be used. I am rather pleased that their names spell out DNA, very romantic don't you think?

The cards were wrapped in a pocketfold envelope and completed with blue and green ribbon and topped with a real starfish bought from Amazon.


Ta da!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

On the B-Day

It was another glorious morning in the Walatta House and both T and I were up at 6 because little Z has been waking early. Luckily the coffee machine has been plugged in and we had bought some fresh Hansa beans day before.

It is Thursday, Aug 2 and Suresh our tuk-tuk driver had picked today for his shop opening ceremony. The date, he said, was auspicious and a Poya day ( full moon ) so friends and family have been invited to witness the grand opening . At 10am sharp, Suresh greeted us at our place and we ( A, T, Z and myself) piled into the tuk-tuk heading for his shop.

S's tiny little shop is nestled into the hill under the shade of a bodhi tree. Relatives had turned up for this humble event and we were not sure what to expect.


We soon realised that we were the special guests and T was asked to officiate the opening!


What a great honor. After the ribbon cutting and well wishes, we took off our shoes and entered as the first customers. I picked up some eggs, spices and water while the proud owners posed for their photo and invited the guests for some simple food.


Such a sweet couple. His mum and grandmother were also there to support the couple. Little Z was being passed around and he was very good even though everyone tried pinching his cheeks.

After the morning festivities, our other friends who have flown in from Singapore and HK were ready for lunch. I suggested Mangrove Gardens, only a 10 min drive away and the restaurant is bang on the beach.

The van dropped us off and we walked across the Rekawa Lagoon with views of the lush mangroves.


This place was built after the 2004 Tsunami, so the coconut palms on the beach are still very young so you duck under the palms as you weave through the paths to get to the beach.


We brought along chilled bottles of Cloudy Bay and ordered some fried rice , grilled fish, devilled chicken and it was all very delicious. I had a poke around in their chalets and simple as they were, were adequate and clean.



So after filling ourselves with seafood and chips, we headed back to take a dip in our pool. A was off to collect the BBQ and spit that he built with the help of a blacksmith and some mechanics in town.

He spent a good 5-6 hours yesterday looking for parts and making things up as he went along. The mission was to build a pit and spit using whatever he could find around Tangalle. The project was staggering since he had trouble communicating with the locals and much was lost in translation. However the villagers tried their best and came up with something that actually worked.


The man on the left with the red teeth is the blacksmith. His workshop was at the back of his house and was no bigger than a closet.




That night, we oohed and aahed at this piece of genius and grilled some steaks and prawns for dinner. We could not find a whole lamb so the rotisserie could not be tested.

I was planning on making centerpieces and setting the table for a special birthday dinner but ditched the idea last minute as we were knee deep with work around the house. So with the bbq heating up, we drank ourselves silly and wore some crazy wigs. T read the card that we made for him and reminisced about his childhood as we read out his old report cards. It was a really good night.




Epic Holiday

On July 26th evening, we took the Srilankan flight from Doha to Colombo. The flight merely took 5 hours and we landed at local time 5.40am. The driver Aruna was there to welcome us back and it felt great to be back even though it is our third trip this year alone.

The highway from Colombo to the Galle highway has not been opened but there are promises of its inauguration Feb 2013. For now, it will take 1.5 hours to get to the freeway because of the small roads and bumper to bumper city traffic at most times of the day.

Once we passed the tolls, roads were clear right down to the coastal town of Galle. The car ride lulled us to sleep, as on the plane, we hadn't slept a wink. After an hour or so, the highway ended and we were back on the coastal path. Hungry, we popped into ERA hotel in Thalpe for breakfast. It has a great spot, right on the beach and Z was running giggling on the lawn and getting sprayed on by sprinklers while we tucked into eggs and bacon.

 

By now, it was 10am and we had another 70km to go before the house. So we piled back into minivan and carried on. Z was wide awake now and pointing out excitedly at cars, tuk tuks and the sea.

Finally, we get on to the land, and I see our gate for the first time. Simply wrought iron bars with concrete beams opened up by smiley Mr Siripela, our gardener.

The house looks different since March as there's more grass and a row of bamboo has  been planted along the perimeter. The guys were putting more grass on the roof as we unloaded from the van.

The sofa and the dining table has been delivered and so were the bed frames but things were lying everywhere. I spent the next few days arranging the bits and pieces in preparation for our guests who were arriving in a few days time. So here are the pics, there is still a lot to be done, like the mirrors in the bathrooms have not been fitted and the TV room needs plastering but we should be back there within the next 6 months so more photos to follow. But for now, here's The Walatta House.


It looks great but we had some water issues because SL is suffering a drought. The water board shut water supply down and we had to buy water from a guy who basically went to a well and pumped it into his bowser.

After tolling for 3 days around the house, we drove up to Colombo for a night, to do some shopping and meet the first guest flying in from Doha.

For a special treat, we checked into Tintagel, a uber chic hotel by Paradise Road.


The rooms are all done in black and brown stripes across the decor and walls. Ceilings are high and floors of hardwood. The beds and couches are oversized and plush. They even have shops where you can buy the decor and I love it all.



Paradise Road. Aptly named.

D, when you come next June, I'll take you shopping there.