Ztampfilicious

a Wonderful Holiday Seasons filled with Love, Joy and Peace!

Wondering where have I been gone to? Looking for the  Ztampfever #51? No, it hasn’t been released yet!

I have just been back to Hong Kong after a 5-week trip to my hometown Jakarta, Indonesia for my solo art exhibition ‘Corporeal Dream’. You can read the review in the Jakarta Post here (in English) and another one in Tempo Weekly here (in Indonesian). To view the exhibition and the works shown there, click here.

While in Jakarta, I got to spend time with my old folks and my old friends too! It was especially wonderful since my older brother and his family who live in Toronto is visiting as well. Oh and my youngest brother and his lovely wife have just been blessed with a super adorable baby boy too. So you see, plenty to take over my life and took away my time and energy from Ztampfing! But don’t worry, I’ll get back to it very soon :).

Until then!

Yes, Ztampf! is now available at Scrapbookgraphics! Soon I’ll be adding some brand new products there so watch out for them ;).

My apology that Ztampfever #50 comes in a very simple form of an email sent to subscribers which I copied here for the rest of you (or those who missed the email). This is because I have been crazy busy with the preparation for my upcoming solo art exhibition ‘Corporeal Dream‘ which was plagued with various kinds of complications and problems. Now finally all the works are ready to be displayed in the gallery and I am here in Jakarta where the exhibition will run. If you are on Facebook, you can RSVP here, otherwise you can follow the progress here.

Now, Ztampf-wise, I’ve only managed to release the CD Calendar Plus 2010 Kit in this period. Available in US English (weeks start on Sunday) and Global English (weeks start on Monday). Check them out!

And yes, I have a special coupon for you! Just use this coupon code “enjoyfall” (without the quotes) to receive 25% OFF DISCOUNT when you spend $10 or more at ZtampfShop between today through 30 Nov. 2009. This coupon code is valid for one time use per person. Valid on any downloadable products except for Gift Certificates and Licenses.

That’s it for now! I promise that I’ll get back creating more ztampfilicious products as soon as I can :). Have a wonderful week ahead,

Ztampfiliciously Yours,

~fhung~

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{ http://ztampf.com ~ digiscraptistry at its finest }

Ztampfilicious digital elements for scrapbooking,
card-making, journaling and other crafthings!

A quick and super easy way to create special holiday gifts for your loved ones:

Available in US English (weeks start on Sunday) and Global English (weeks start on Monday).
Get yours now at Ztampf!Shop.

It’s being sent in batches so it might take some time to reach you. You could also read the Ztampfever #49 here.

For those been waiting for the Ztampf! MINI CraftyCalendar 2010 Kit, it is here: Global English Version and US English Version. UPDATED: Deutsche Version is now available too!

And there is a brand new little thing for your Halloween projects too:

Now get your discount coupon from the Ztampfever #49 ;).

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Yes, Version Française of Ztampf! CraftyCalendar 2010 Kit is now available at Ztampf!Shop:

Ztampfever #48 has been released – with a Gift included ;). Check it out now!

And guess what! The QUADRUPLE SHOPPING SPREE is being extended through Friday, Sep. 18th! So it’s not too late to benefit from this super rare chance to get your Ztampf! at an incredible saving rate! ENJOY!

Ztampf! is turning four this Sep. 15th and the celebration begins right now with the QUADRUPLE SHOPPING SPREE! Spend just $25 for $100 worth of ztampfilicious goodness of your choice! Four times the fun! Do not miss this very rare chance:

Enjoy the QUADRUPLE SHOPPING SPREE from NOW through  September 15^th 2009. Here’s how:

1. Purchase the Quadruple Shopping Spree Coupon for $25 (you cannot use any discount coupon for this purchase).
2. Type in QUAD in the message box upon checking out.
3. Within 24 hours, an “Order Update” email will be sent to you with your very own personal coupon code with $100 value. Contact me if you still haven’t received it after the 24 hours has passed.
4. The coupon is valid for 1 (one) use only. Once it’s used, it can’t be re-issued so do keep your own coupon code safely.
5. The coupon is good for any downloadable products in the shop except for Licenses and Gift Certificates.
6. You have 2 (two) weeks from the date of Quadruple Shopping Spree Coupon purchase to make your selection and download them.
7. Use up all your coupon value at once within one order because any remaining portion of unused coupon value will become obsolete afterwards.
8. Upon downloading your order, please check and verify that all files are working and do not forget to back up the files properly.
9. Enjoy and Happy Scrapping!

of Ztampf! CraftyCalendar 2010 Kit is now available:

13-Month Ztampf! CraftyCalendar Kit 2010 – Deutsche Version with Weeks start on Monday!

The original collapsible desk-calendar great for super special gifts that last the whole year and then some! Create fully customized keepsakes to give for Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Days, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Just Because…

Created using various recent ztampfilicious kits, the Ztampf! CraftyCalendar Kit 2010 comes with so much goodies to give you a greater flexibility in creating your very own unique calendars.

Features:
• A 13-Month desktop calendar that is collapsible to a portable, flat ‘book’ – perfect for mailing and traveling!
• The finished, display size is Half-Legal Paper Size (approx. 8.5 x 7 inches).
• The Magnetic Snaps closure is not only cool: it is sturdy, practical and compact – available from many local/online scrapbooking supplies shops .
• Individual Monthly Date Overlays in PNG format are provided; you can use them in various ways for various types of calendar.
• Tabbed Calendar Page Templates are provided so you can create your calendar using any paper you wish!
• All the Weeks start on Monday.

Content of the kit:
• 28 hyper-realistic Tiny Ensembles ready to ‘drop’ to your Calendar Pages. They can be used for many other purposes as well.
• 27 fun and unique Date Markers for those important dates!
• 13 Months PreMade Calendar Pages (complete with background and the dates) – Deutsch.
• 12 Blank Calendar Pages (with background, without the dates).
• 3 Background Overlays for use with the blank pages and date overlays.
• 2 x 13 Months Date Overlays in PNG format (Dark and Light versions) – Deutsch.
• 3 Reversible Tabbed Calendar Page Templates in PNG format.
• 3 Sets of Designer Cover Pages.
• 9 Seasonal Charms to further embellish your calendar pages accordingly.
• 4 Sets of Title for the PullOut Note Cards – each provided in 3 colors.
• Template and 3 Overlays for the PullOut Note Cards.
• Illustrated Step-by-Step Instructions Booklet in PDF format with Tips’n Tricks Section – in English.
• Diagram for the collapsible Stand/Folder.

OTHER LANGUAGE VERSIONS:
• US English Version (Weeks start on Sunday)
• Global English Version (Weeks start on Monday)
• Version Française (Weeks start on Monday) – coming up!
E-mail me should you wish a version in your language (Only the name of days and months are in specific languages. The Instructions Booklet is all in English only).

Get your Ztampf! CraftyCalendar Kit 2010 – Deutsche Version here!

What a lucky girl I am: as part of my husband’s birthday gift for me, he ‘kidnapped’ me to a secret destination – beginning in the early morning of August 17th (which happened to be the Indonesian Independence Day!) until evening of August 20th, just a day after my actual birthday which was on the 19th. It’s not until we arrived at the airport that my husband told me that we’re going to Ho Chi Minh City! We’ve never been to Viet Nam so it was fun and interesting! Very economical too – even as we’re treating ourselves into the lap of luxury for this special occasion.

The flight was smooth and short (only 2 hours from Hong Kong). The apparently new airport was pleasant and bright. The weather in Ho Chi Minh City turned out to be slightly nicer than Hong Kong. While it was hot, it was quite breezy and wasn’t so humid. The weather forecast predicted a rain storm in the afternoon – but there was no sign of it!

Here we are sitting like a royal couple in the hotel’s limousine, picking us up from the airport. Such a rare luxury! After checking in to our hotel, the Park Hyatt Saigon – a real treat – we then had lunch in a very local, small restaurant not too far from the hotel which turned out to specialize in shark fins and bird nests that we don’t eat. We had an okay crabmeat soup with corn and asparagus and quite a tasty fried noodle with seafood. I also had a lotus seed drink which was nice. We’re surprised at how cheap our lunch was!

It begins… Day 1

After lunch, we explored our surrounding a bit. I love the old colonial buildings in the Ho Chi Minh City. I found this one to be particularly charming.

Day 1.1 [Left Page]

We browsed some silk shops and found one that we liked. We have a traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai made for me to wear on my birthday! It’s all silk and unbelievably cheap! It would be ready the next day too! Then we decided to enjoy ‘the lap of luxury’ that is our hotel:

Day 1.1 [Right Page]

Dinner was at the famous Temple Club Restaurant – it actually reminded me of the Batavia Café in Jakarta a bit. We had a nice dinner but I didn’t take any photos of the food as we wanted to focus on the moment and just enjoying it all. We did take a couple of pics afterward though! Through it all I wasn’t aware at all about a (failed) surprise that’s supposed to greet me there!

Day 1.2 [Left Page]

The delayed surprise finally happened later when we’re back in our hotel. My husband has ‘shipped’ a dear friend of mine that I met during an Artist Residency in Vermont last year who lives in Ha Noi to Viet Nam for my birthday!!! How so very thoughtful and sweet of him! So my friend Thu arrived very late because her flight was badly delayed. We had a blast catching up and she had her late meal in our room.

Day 1.2 [Right Page]

The next day we explored the city together. If it wasn’t for the extreme heat, we could sometimes told ourselves that we were in Paris! Look at the buildings! My husband had to borrow my Muji hat to protect his sun-sensitive head and I think he looked adorable in it and the color happened to match his outfit perfectly too!

Day 2.1 [Left Page]

Day 2.2 [Right Page]

This is the Ben Thanh Market, housed in one of the surviving oldest colonial buildings in the Ho Chi Minh City. It was so hot even inside – it took us a while to sort of get used to it. Most of the handicraft items there looked familiar to me, a cross between Indonesian and Chinese. But we did get something that I have never seen somewhere else before: a nice salad bowl made out of bamboo and it was quite cheap too. I also bought some ‘oleh-oleh’ for my folks. ‘Oleh-oleh’ is gifts you hand to people when you’re back from traveling, usually something typical of the place you visited. I’m most happy with my purchase of some spicy ‘juhi’ there! ‘Juhi’ (pronounced joo-hee) is my favoritest snack ever; it’s a dried, rolled then grilled cuttlefish. Very yummy!

Day 2.3 [Left Page]

We had lunch in one of the food stalls in the market. It was yummy and very cheap!

Day 2.3 [Right Page]

After dropping our shopping bags off at our hotel room, we continued on exploring the city. It reminded me a lot of the old Jakarta of my childhood. So, oddly, I felt somewhat nostalgic which was quite interesting. We sought to visit the Viet Nam Art Museum – which was not far from the Ben Thanh Market we visited earlier that day. It was such an impressive and charming old mansion.

Day 2.4 [Left Page]

We’re not allowed to take photos of the displayed artwork but it was fine to take photos of the surrounding. We loved the open area surrounding the court yard. It was such a grand mansion! We later found out that it used to be an apartment building, each floor was occupied by a number of different members of what looked like a big, affluent Vietnamese family.

Day 2.4 [Right Page]

Day 2.5 [Left Page]

From there we browsed some shops and got some more inexpensive silk things for the girls and myself. Thu got herself a very pretty pair of earrings. Then we dropped by the Silk Diva to get my Ao Dai. It was ready but needed some adjustments. I noticed that the craftsmanship is not so good, but I guess I get what I (my husband, to be exact) pay for since it’s unbelievably cheap. From a distance, you can’t really tell though and I really love the style: the combination of flowing tunic and flare pants makes the Ao Dai elegant and feminine without sacrificing freedom of movement and comfort. And it was entirely made with silk! Oh!

Here are some silly pics of me during the fitting which Thu has snapped with her camera:

Day 2.5 [Right Page]

As Thu was leaving for Ha Noi that evening, we had dinner early. She’s been telling us about a specialty of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) called Banh Xeo. She have had some in Ha Noi but the best of Banh Xeo is to be had in Saigon. So we got her to ask the hotel concierge about the best Banh Xeo restaurant in town and we promptly went there! It was a curious dish, like a folded pizza eaten wrapped in various choices of leaves. We noticed how Vietnamese love to wrap everything in a leaf for their food! There were so many choices of Banh Xeo and we settled on a traditional seafood and a ‘fusion’ seaweed ones. It was quite tasty but our favorite was the toasted rice cake with prawns and veggies. The skin was crispy and the inside is melting soft and hot. Very yummy!

Day 2.6 [Left Page]

Day 2.6 [Right Page]

After dinner, we said goodbye to Thu who went straight to the airport back to Ha Noi that night. We took a cab back to our hotel but decided to be dropped a bit way off and strolled a bit before finally sat down to have some drink in a charming outdoor bar called Q, by the Opera House. So Paris-like! Again, the pricing was very wallet-friendly! So ended our first two days in Ho Chi Minh City!

To Be Continued

Have you seen it?

Start creating your extra special and unique Christmas/New Year gifts now! Ztampf! CraftyCalendars make fabulous gifts that last for a whole year and then some! I know many customers whose loved ones have came to expect a Ztampf! CraftyCalendars every year now! Just like my own family members :). Fully customizable with your very own photographs, date markers, notes and more, Ztampf! CraftyCalendars are made with loving attention to be collect, cherished and treasured year after year.

Currently Ztampf! CraftyCalendars is available in US English (weeks start on Sunday) and Global English (weeks start on Monday). Deutsche Version and Version Française are coming up next! Don’t forget to make use of the coupons in the Ztampfever #47 before you go purchasing the Ztampf! CraftyCalendars!

Enjoy creating your super special Ztampf! CraftyCalendars! Email me should you need any help with it :). Happy scrafting!

It is here!

In case you’re wondering why I’m making it available here:

Looks like sometimes some subscribers didn’t receive the Ztampfever in their inbox although they have subscribed, have had my email address in their White List and Address Book and they even have been receiving many issues of Ztampfever before! As this seems to happen at random and caused by too many possible factors beyond my control, I decided to always post the direct link to the new Ztampfever on my Ztampfilicious Blog and on the Ztampf!Shop front so those who missed it could just get it anytime. Those who subscribed and been receiving it can keep enjoying it.

So what are you waiting for? Go enjoy all the ztampfiliciousness in Ztampfever #47 now!