December Recap

Oh well, it's late again, but that's the thing with Decembers, isn't it? You'd think time slowed down during the long holiday break, but no, everything seemed to move in fast forward.

I wasn't very productive scrapbooking wise. I missed Candy's Kaya - I had an idea in mind but wasn't sure how to execute it, and then time ran away from me, and before I knew it, it was the deadline. I was able to manage only one layout. The second of my Christmas layouts. I decided to move my self-imposed deadline for the Family Christmas album from December 25 to January 31. Why? Because to quote Tina Fey, I am the decider!!! Obviously, I spent New Year's Eve and most of the first day of the year watching 30 Rock re-runs.


Christmas was kinda incomplete. We visited my parents in the province last December 24 morning, had lunch with them, then had dinner with DH's parents here in the Metro. Thank goodness there wasn't much traffic. Wee hours of Christmas day, DH had to leave for L.A. on business. So that's were the sadness was coming from. He spent his birthday there and New Year on the plane. He arrived yesterday and with all the goodies he brought for me and the kiddies, it was Christmas once again.

As usual, I gave DH a list of scrapbooking stuff I wanted from Joanns and Michaels, but he diverted once again. He wasn't able to get me everything on my list (they were out of stock) but he got me other things I wouldn't have thought of buying, but I certainly could use. Sayang naman daw kasi, many things were 60% discounted. Love this guy. He even bought Girl Scout papers for my girls and KI puppy papers for Jasper. He must really love me. Either that, or he's saying I should scrap more. Faster even.

So why wasn't there much scrapping? Because there was alot of baking - cookies, cupcakes, more cookies, to give to friends and neighbors. My Kitchen Aid has never worked so hard.

Let me leave you with two Christmas layouts. The spread was for Kaya 19 and will go to our Family Christmas album - a work in progress.


I'm using old photos that have already been printed so I have to work with the available sizes and colors. But that's ok. I'm after writing down our Christmas stories, so the layouts need not be magazine-pretty.

November Recap

And, it's two days late, I'm sorry. As if naman people are waiting with bated breath for me to recap the past month. Hahaha. Well, one can only hope.

So the whole month of November is dedicated to the Twilight series and, of course, the movie. It's funny how Candy infected me with her enthusiasm for the books and I managed to infect other people, too. And what fun to discover that there are other scrappers out there who share the same interest and delight in the books. Although I'm sure less layouts were made because of this addiction. Hehehe.

Four required LOs for this month and thanks to the Kaya challenges by Marj, I was able to meet my quota - the final one a spread, to boot. And hopefully, the first of my annual family Christmas layouts. My goal for December is to have a Christmas album by December 25. Hmmm....that's 9 layouts to go and I am assuming double-pagers, so I pray I am up for this self-imposed challenge. Otherwise, I will hang my head in shame and just go back to reading Twilight. (Yup! Any excuse, right?)

We also went scrapping and eating in Cavite! I can't wait for the next crop party at Alby's place. I'm sure by then, her scrapping area is finished. Well, it was technically finished but she hasn't moved her things yet, because she was too enamored with Edward Cullen. Haha.

And then last November 29, we had much fun again at My Little Attic's mini-jam. As much as possible, I try not to miss any of Nette's crop events because she is always such a gracious host. The kits and food alone more than cover the minimal registration fee. And then there are the sales (I really had to hold on to my wallet) and the yummy raffle prizes. I wasn't as lucky this time, but I still went home with a prize. And besides, I enjoyed myself immensely with my tablemates, Alby, Bjay and Reggie, who after exchanging stories, I was surprised to learn is my kumare. We share an inaanak. Small world, isn't it?

We learned new techniques also - using alcohol inks (Yoyin demonstrated a different way of using them), glimmer mists (Donna showed us how to achieve that fine spray), and Cookie shared with us her acrylic hanging thingamajig. I am sorry, I don't know what it's called exactly, but you know Cookie. It was really a functional work of art.

Our kit included materials for a box which we decorated with masking using glimmer mists, a mini-album which I didn't finish because I made a mistake with pasting the paper. All the planes and trucks were upside down. It looked like they figured in a vehicular accident and turned turtle. I did finish one 8x8 acrylic layout, which sources told me was in the running but it didn't win. Knowing it was at least considered was a happy thing for me already cause I did it on the spot with little materials at hand.

Sharing it with you -


Materials Used:
Daisy D's rubons; Pink Paislee PPS; K & Co chipboards; Prima flowers; 7 Gypsies; Ranger alochol inks (which I dabbed behind the acrylic, making unconscious sound effects, according to Alby).

That's a photo I took of Sarah when I was learning photography at the Filipinas Heritage Library. It was voted as one of the best photos by th class. The same photo was later used in the FHL brochure. I think Sarah was around 2 years old at the time.


It's December! And so the countdown begins to heavy traffic both in the streets and in the malls, harried and hurried Christmas shopping...I hope we take time to reflect on the true meaning of this season: take lots of photos and scrap them! Wink.

October Recap

What? October has come and gone already? Like Julia Fordham sings, "Where does the time go?"

I haven't scrapped much lately, specially since the KiDS are on their sem break. We've been spending most of our free time watching DVD movies, playing Scribbage, and baking. After more than a year, I finally used my oven again, making our favorite chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, brownies and revel bars. Nothing beats fresh from the oven cookies.


I also organized my pantry and I can't believe the number of cookbooks I have. Even if I don't really cook, I always love drooling over food photos and recipes. I have this undying hope that someday I will be able to whip up a gourmet meal like Julia Childs or Martha Stewart, without even breaking a sweat, vanilla-scented sweat at that. LOL.


In the scrapbooking front, the question burns - did I meet my 5 layout quota for the month?

Well, my layout for the Scrappin Moms Idol contest finale held last October 4, should count as one, right? And in between school meetings, visits to the hospital (too many family members and friends were ill this month), family time and planning for Halloween, I was able to come up with these.

Beware

I had to showcase the BG paper on this one. I love how it says "confused" right there. Just perfect for my grumpy little girl. Shhh...I promised her I won't share this LO in the internet. There's no telling what she'll do if she ever finds out, so beware.


I just remembered I used this same paper on another classic Sarah trait. She threw a tantrum over my sharing that layout, too.

Boy Eating Dinosaur

I was inspired by BG's Archaic line to scrap really old photos. These are of Diego at barely six months old. Wasn't he a cute bugger? My magazines tell me to scan the photos and print them out in different sizes so I can have a focal point, but that's just too expensive for me, money-wise and time-wise. I can't do that to all my photos which have been developed at 3x5. I have around 4 shoe boxes full of them.


My title was inspired by a weird act we once saw in a carnival. The sign outside the tent said boldly: Man Eating Chicken. We paid highly just to see a grubby man dressed in rags eating fried chicken. It's a good thing we got the joke, otherwise I would have demanded a refund.

In the Winx of an Eye

This here's my Kaya entry for October. You can check the details here.


Oh, dear, that's only four LOs, one LO short. But wait! I made my first ever gesso project.Would this do instead? " :-)


Diego dressed up as a zombie for their school's Halloween party. We weren't able to buy liquid latex to make the scars on his face so I used gesso, which I read in the internet, is liquid latex with chalk suspension. With some cotton balls, lots of gesso, and acrylic and face paints, I turned my son into one of the dead. All the while though I was trying to channel Bjay, an accomplished scrapbooker and face painter. My final product wasn't pretty, but who said the undead are? BTW, he won best costume in his class. So despite the setbacks, this mom is happy.

Catching Up (August and September Recaps)

I have so neglected this blog. Doesn't mean that I haven't been scrapping. I was kept quite busy by the Scrappin' Moms Idol Challenge 2. I hope to be able to post my layouts and the stories behind each of them later. In the meanwhile, the OC in me wants to pick up where I left off. But that is quite impossible. So many things have happened already. And you know what they say, if it happened yesterday, it's old news. If it happened, two months ago, it's history.

But let me just post monthly recaps for August and September, just to have a sense of continuity.

August 2008

- I joined Scrappin' Moms Idol challenge yet again. I will upload separate posts for my layouts, my observations, and my conclusions. Remember I said in this post that I consider this a social experiment? :-)

- DH's laptop went bonkers in July, and he has been using mine. Given his "magic" touch, my laptop when haywire, too, losing profiles, passwords, and bookmarks. I was able to resolve that. But then we had some hardware problems. The mouse and keypads wouldn't respond to commands sometimes. We were never sure when the laptop would cooperate. That was my biggest challenge during the competition. I was always uncertain if I could retrieve my photos in the hard drive, much less, edit them in photoshop.

- I was featured in Scrapbytes' Designer Spolight for the July-August issue. I have to give it to Mia Castrillo. She really made me look good. :-) I am a fan of Mia's simple scrapbooks and keeping it real journaling so her writing about me is truly as an honor.

- Our Representative from my previous office (I don't want to write the whole name down because I know they search the internet daily for mention of the Foundation, and I dont want my personal blog being circulated in the offices). She attended the Ramon Magsaysay Awards and we had a sumptuous lunch together with DH and the KiDS at Spiral. We had alot of catching up to do since it's been two years since we last saw each other, but I was kinda distracted by the buffet. Can you blame me?

September 2008

- I volunteered to help out at the Venture for Fund Raising Congress, and was able to reconnect with former Foundation grantees. This really got me excited about working in the development sector again.

- During the first week, I lost my internet connection at home. My bad. I forgot to follow up with my DH's staff if he had paid the bills. The worst thing was finding out I didn't have internet as I tried to submit my LO to the Scrappinmoms. I had to bring my laptop to the Venture Congress (praying it would cooperate) and send it through Gateway Mall's freearaneta wi-fi. Whew!

- This month, I had a dream come true. Remember the Kaya 3 wishes challenge? One down, two to go. Speaking of Kaya, I missed the August-September challenges. Sigh. I've never missed a Kaya layout before.

- Middle of the month, my printer also went bonkers. And, you guessed it right. DH used it. Truly, this man was a walking technological disaster these past months. If you don't believe me, wait 'til I tell you about how he ran over his Sony cellphone/PDA. So I took to having my photos printed out in various photoshops, and uploading my entries in internet cafes, or in my brother-in-law's garage, or through his wife's computer....anywhere there is free w-fi. Hahaha.

- And yet despite such odds, I made it to the Top 10 finals of the Idol challenge. I still cannot believe it myself. Hehehe.

- Well, I was unable to join the Bad Girls challenge. I even asked Marj to enlist me. But because I wasn't able to go online and say present on the first day of class so I was automatically expelled. I so wanted to learn from the site, but, oh, well, maybe next year.

- I am not yet really back in business because DH still uses my laptop to finish up his term papers. We were temporarily able to solve the hardware problems by using the body of his laptop (his hard drive is still in the repair shop undergoing "archaeological excavation"). And because of that I still haven't had my internet reconnected. Sayang naman ang monthly fee kung di naman ma-maximize. :-(

On the one hand, I miss being connected to my friends and groups through the internet. On the other, I feel that I was able to spend more quality time with my family. My laptop used to be an extension of myself, but because of technological troubles, I was forced to be without it for months. It isn't so bad. There is life outside cyper-space. But, see you there again soon.

July Recap

July target number of LOs - Five.

Number of LOs created - Six. Plus one digital LO which was luckily picked in Kaya. See me doing a happy jig. :-)

Scrap Jam happened this month, and I had a lot of inspiration, got in touch with friends, both old and new, shopped for goodies and won a Squeeze.

I discovered e-bay, much to my husband's dismay. Nothing is more exciting than upping another bidder by a mere $.05. And nothing can describe what I felt when a lot of really cheap stamps slipped from my grasp because DH made me lose my concentration at the last crucial seconds.

I am not working again, so it's back to the regular routine of going to my in-laws' place to help out and wait for the KiDS to finish school.

And another bit of happy news...Candy lent me her copy of the Webster's Pages Summer 2008 catalog. Guess who's on page 26. Now that was a surprise because I thought our LOs that won in Lasting Impression's challenge will only be placed in their online gallery. Hopefully, they will respond to my e-mail requesting a copy of the catalog so I can return Candy's copy.


Wait...does this qualify as being "published"? LOL.

I hope I will be able to squeeze in some scrappy time in the next few weeks. August is a very busy time at my KiDS' school.

May Recap

This month, I managed to squeeze in 7 layouts! I feel I could have done more, but it was also a busy time with the children and returning back to work after almost two years.

I missed Scrapfest 5 - every Pinay scrappers most talked about event, but that's okey cause I got to spend that time bonding with the KiDS at Manila Ocean Park.

We fulfilled a promise to the Carmelite nuns to teach them to scrap and make cards. Thanks to Candy and Nita, without whom this would not have happened at all. And we can never be grateful enough to all you scrappers who shared your creativity in making cards, and cash and kind donations.

I started working for a small US-based communications group about two weeks ago. My official title is Senior Writer/Project Manager, but really, I'm still trying to figure out how I fit in the organization. What I love about this job is I get to work at home, with only my computer, a trusty internet connection, and Skype. No commuting and all the hassles (traffic, rushing, being late) and expenses (transportation fees, lunches out, power dressing) that it entails. I can literally work in my pajamas, without having to shower or brush my teeth first. Hehe.

Last week, I attended a 3-day workshop on fund raising (not related to the job above). Since we started helping the Carmelites raise money for their chapel, I have been kicking myself for not taking advantage of all the fund raising training that I was invited to in my former job. I kept thinking I could be more help if I had more background on that subject. But God works in mysterious ways because just a week after we turned over the funds to the nuns, I received an email from Venture regarding a fund raising course. I was quite surprised because I have had no contact with them since I stopped working. But I took a deep breath and e-mailed them that yes, I am interested to attend their course, but I cannot afford to pay the P8000 course fee, but if they like, I could offer my services to for future workshops. Amazingly, they said yes, and that's where I've been the past week, exchanging ideas with development NGOs like World Vision, Philippine National Red Cross, etc. It was really stimulating and it made me realize how much I miss my old job. Like I told the organizers after the three days, that was the most fun I had in two years (scrapbooking not included). Hopefully, I can help the Carmelites more fully with the strategies I learned.

Scary moments with Sarah yesterday as she has been running a high fever the past few days. Rashes appeared on her stomach so we brought her to the hospital. Thankfully, her platelet count was normal so we went home with antibiotics and antihistamine. However, when I was feeding her dinner, her nose bled, so we went to the ER again, and demanded another CBC. Her platelet count dropped but still within normal range so we were told to go home again. I am still closely monitoring her, praying that it's not the dreaded dengue.

This morning, I left Sarah with DH to bring Kahlo and Diego to the premiere of Prince Caspian in Glorietta. I wanted to beg off but I couldn't bear to disappoint them. We got free tickets from Sky Cable again. The organizers served delicious meals from Kitaro, Sugar House, Fish & Co. and Krispy Kreme. And Diego won a box set of the Chronicles of Narnia for answering "Who is Lucy's first friend in Narnia?" correctly. He's been begging us the past few days for the next book in the series. He already has books 1 - 4, and now he has all 7. For free!

And last, but not the least, I was featured as Scrapbukan's GDT.

So now I leave this month with an LO I haven't had a chance to post. This is based on another Page Map again.


Journaling:
You had so much fun at a field trip to La Mesa Ecopark. Being so close to nature brought out the best in you both. You laughed, you ran, you played, you had so much fun. If only all days could be like this one. (April 26, 2008)

Materials:
DCWV CS; My Mind's Eye PPS and Diecuts; Clearsnap inkpad; Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist; Ranger Stickles; Ribbon (unknown); Saunders adhesive; Staetdler Pen.

I hope I continue to be as productive in the coming months.

April Recap

I planned to post this two nights ago but I had to help DH pack for his upcoming trip. It seemed he brought alot of stuff, not all of it his. I also had to attend several meetings with him in the past few days because I have to take care of business while he is away. Grabe! Ang daming bilin. But that's OK, madami din akong bilin na scrapbook stuff sa kanya. Hehehe.

Anyway, this month marked the official beginning of summer vacation! We hadn't gone to the beach yet, it's much too hot for that. Instead, we enrolled the KiDS to PETA workshops which they enjoyed. Their final showcase is tomorrow and DH is sad he will miss that.

The KIDS are now allowed a few hours of TV, Playstayion and DS every day, so I use that time to scrap. I kinda missed them hanging around with me in my scraproom but I am more productive when their electronic toys keep them occupied. So I shouldn't complain, right?

This month's goal was for 5 layouts. And I completed 8 layouts, not including the 4 layouts I did for a GDT assignment for Scrapbukan. I hope the mojo sticks with me.

We finally met the Carmelite nuns in Tarlac and we are going back this May to give them workshops on scrapbooking and cardmaking. They were so impressed by the cards my fellow scrapbookers made for them , and they got interested, too. They're thinking maybe they could earn some money from this.

Speaking of earning, I'm sure regular readers would have noticed that I started to write up "Awareness Campaigns." Please humour me. I could certainly use the extra income to support this hobby. I will try to keep my awareness posts truthful, entertaining, and most specially anecdotal. That is, I will relate them to actual things and events that have happened to me or someone I know.

I also finally updated my KiDS Meet World blog (about the KiDS and my family's misadventures) and Food Envy (food cum travel blog). I hope I can continue to update them because I neglected them so much since Pinayscrapper was born. Please do visit them as they are also good reads and you might pick up bits of information that may be of use to you.

March Recap

OK, might as well do this a day earlier while I still have internet and I really doubt I'm gonna be able to scrap anything else tonight. Tomorrow I will have to scrap my sample LO for the Kaya 12 challenge and that's coming out April, so watch out for that.

Four target layouts this month and I actually scrapped (drum roll, please....) ta-daan... 8 layouts. I've posted some here and here.

I still have to share this, which was supposed to be my second entry to Lasting Impression's Webster's Pages challenge. It was too late for the deadline but since I had everything planned in my head, I made it anyway.

FANTASY RIDE


Journaling:
The Grand Carousel was your favorite ride at the Enchanted Kingdom. You even had a favorite pony - the yellow one with the flowers on its bridle. After each ride, you rushed to line up again...and again...over and over. Until finalyy, I, who had to ride with you innumerable times, finally said, "No more." - Mama (3/1/08)

Materials:
PPS - Webster's Pages, Diecuts - Cuttlebug, Sizzix Bigz; Stamps - Prima, Fancy Pants; Ink - Tsukineko; Rubons - Webster's Pages; Glitter - Martha Stewart; Ric Rac - Joan; Tag - K & Co.; Pen - Staedtler; Adhesives - Saunders.

You already know that against all odds (so many beautiful LOs in the gallery), "Adore" placed second in the challenge. :-)

And this is my take on Mia's challenge to use blings on a layout about your entertainment idol. I decided to go for an old college crush so I could also scrap my old photos. Yup! That scrawny youth in the pics is me. Those were the days... Not only did I use old photos, that is the actual Rick Springfield cutout that was on my red memo board (see bottom photo closely).

HARD TO HOLD


Journaling:
In college, I had a major crush on Rick Springfield. I had his posters plastered on my dorm walls. I cut out his pictures from Jingle Song Hits. He watched over me as I studied and slept. I played his cassette tape out louad until my dorm mates complained. I even rented his movie "Hard to Hold" and saw it over and over on my cousin Benjo's betamax. He was so handsome and sexy and when he sings "Jessie's Girl" with fire and passion, I wished I was going out with a boy named Jessie.

Materials:
PPS - DCWV (Retro and Glitter packs); Glitter - Stickles; Paint - MM Glitter Glaze; Diecut - Cuttlebug; Pen - Uniball Signo; Adhesives - UHU glue.

I scrapped another layout that I can't reveal as yet until it's posted in the gallery I submitted it to. I can hardly wait until it's April 1 in the U.S. But I can't resist to share SHE described my LO is "beautiful." I'm sure she tells everyone that, but let's pretend for just one minute that it's just to me. Hahaha.

Speaking of which, I just realised I haven't posted my take on the PS round robin challenge. You can see all the interesting takes on CV's initial challenge in Scrapbytes.

@ POOH'S HOUSE


Journaling:
Sarah and kahlo enjoy a raremoment away from Mama's camera as they share the wonder of discovering Winnie the Pooh's tree trunk at Clark Airbase picnic grounds.

Materials:
CS - DCWV; PPS - SEI, EK Success; Stamp - Inque Boutique; Ink - Clearsnap; Ribbon and tag- unknown; ATB paper tagger; Acrylic embellishment - Japan Home; Diecut - unknown; Pen - Staedtler; Adhesive - Saunders.

I knew before I passed it on the next robin that this LO looked half-baked (that unmatted photo in the bottom and the title bother me) but I didn't want it to get stuck with me. I've had for 3 days already and I didn't want to keep the next scrapper waiting.

And I thought I'd share an LO I did last year but never got the courage to share. You might call it a lesson in "how not to use walnut ink spray." LOL.

KYLE LOVES DIRT

This was supposed to be a clean and simple layout but when I finished, it was just too clean. So I thought I'd liven things up a bit by spraying Walnut Ink at the bottom. The problem with walnut ink is, once it touches your medium, you cannot wipe it off or even smudge it. See the concentric circles? That's the exact way the ink spurted out of my spray. I should have masked the photo to protect it from too much spray. Or, as Marian suggested, used foam to just smudge ink on the places I wanted it on.


Materials:
CS - DCWV; PPS - Creative Inaginations, Fancy Pants; Diecuts - 3 Bugs in a Rug; Stamps - Inque Boutique, Autumn Leaves; Ink - Clearsnap, Tsukineko; Stickers - Joan.

On the homefront, my middle DD turned 8 and my youngest DD graduated from Prep. We had our first camping activity as a family albeit with the other gradeschool students and in school compound. And hurray for summer vacation!!!

February Recap

This month....

I am taking baby steps towards a new career. I will tell you more about it once I am taking more confident strides.

We celebrated birthdays - lots of them. Kahlo turned 6 and Diego turned 10. My babies are not babies anymore. By a strange coincidence, all of my MIL's 3 balaes celebrate their birthdays in February. My mom's b-day is on Feb. 27 and my MIL's b-day is on the 26th. We celebrated MIL's b-day last Sunday with her friends. We were scheduled to go home to Tarlac to be with my own mom, but since MIL had a major surgery scheduled after her b-day, I prevailed upon my mom to hold her celebration tomorrow.

Some scrapping friends (Lindy, Candy, Rachelle, Khei, Jenn, Cookie, Liza) and I volunteered to organize an event called Scrap, Share and Shop - for the benefit of the Carmelite nuns in Tarlac, who need help to finish their chapel. So we have been exchanging notes via email, meeting and having ocular inspections of scrapbook stores (cha-ching!)

I did get to scrap some layouts. Once I reconciled myself with the fact that I could only get to scrap during the weekends, I breathed easier. No more pressure that I have to scrap everytime I find myself with precious free time, as few as they are far between.

This February target - 4 layouts.

I (Heart Candy)

My entry to Studio Azul's sketch challenge. The sketch was made by dear friend Au Lim. It's a great sketch to work with. I've had the b&w photo of Kahlo for the longest time and I just had to add three more small photos. Thank God for Adobe Photoshop for making it easy to crop the perfect size needed.


Journaling:
You are a regular candy monster! You love sweets so much you are willing to risk tooth decay for just a taste of heart-shaped swits.

Materials Used:
CS - DCWV; PPS - Prima; Chipboard - Craft Express, Fancy Pants, Best Buy; Die-cut - Sizzix; Buttons - Autumn Leaves; Glitter - Making Memories; Acrylic paint - Making Memories; Adjesives - UHU glue, Zots, Krylon Fixatif; Ink Pad - Colorbox; Pen - Staedtler Tri-plus.

ADORE
I have had these Webster's Pages papers since middle of last year, I think. And it took a challenge for me to actually bring them out. I just added the prerequisite stickers and voila! Notice the hand-cutting? It will be awhile before I attempt anything like that again. I just love these photos of Kahlo and DH. I could have written a more lengthy title or journaling but somehow the photos seem to say it all.


Journaling:
I wonder who adores who more? Your love for each other is quite palpable.

Quote:
You were made perfectly to be loved - and surely I have loved you, in the idea of you, my whole life long. - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Materials Used:
Papers - DCWV carstock, Webster's Pages Parlor Collection (Savory and Picnic), Deja Views; Stickers - Webster's Pages; Ink - Tsukineko, Colorbox; Photo turn/corners/brad - We R Memory Keepers; Foam - Darice; Adhesives - UHU glue, Zots; Ribbon - unknown.

Game On - Touching is Good
"Touching is Good!" is the Nintendo slogan for the DS Lite, and I think it's perfect for these moments when the KiDS are huddled together over an activity. A simple layout for sure but I had lots of fun doodling on the arrows with fabric paint.


Journaling:
A rare moment of peace. Ever since your Lola Mama gave you this Nintendo DS Lite for X'mas, you fought over who plays first, who got to play the longest, who has more points. But there are times the game gets you so absorbed you forget to fight.

Materials:
American Crafts - Sixth Avenue PPS, Frank mini-marks rub-ons, Latte thickers, Playhouse plastic arrows. Others - DCWV CS, Tulip fabric paint, Hambly rub-on, Autumn Leaves stamp, Colorbox ink, UHU glue, Uni-ball Signo pen.

Sarah Sweet
This is my Kaya 10 all digital entry. I did this one afternoon while waiting for the KiDS in school. That's the beauty of digital scrapbooking. You can scrap anywhere, no fuss, no mess. Just two chocolate wrappers. :-) I had fun discovering new tools in Photoshop. I've always liked the look of big photos in layouts but have never attempted it on traditional. It's cheaper by far to do it digitally. LOL.

Journaling:
You always look at the world through rose-colored glasses. I know that soon you will outgrow your childlike innocence but I hope you continue to be sweet and embrace everything with bright-eyed wonder.

Materials Used:
Danielle Young's Springtime Kit, Fonts from Shabby Princess, Others are Fiorex and Gigi.

Time Flies Altered Clock
This is actually my third altered clock. I don't have a photo of my second (which I gave to the KiDS' piano teacher last Christmas. I rushed it while they were having their lessons downstairs. As soon as the music stopped playing, I knew my time was up and I didn't even get the chance to get a photo.)


Materials:
American Crafts - paper, diecuts, rubons. Others - Autumn Leaves stamp, Creative Imagination stickers, Karen Foster brads, UGU glue.

Much Awaited Altered Clock
Okay, I really finished this last December but I had never posted it. This is my first altered clock which I made with lots of online help from Cookie and Liza. I was just happy when I finished and heard that ticking sound. I was half-afraid it wouldn't work. I gave this to my inaanak, Kayin, who's African name translates to "much awaited."


And well, what do you know, I finished another layout earlier today. It was supposed to be my second Webster's Papers entry which I never got around to doing because of RWR (real world responsibilities.) But since DH has my scanner, maybe I could post that with the March layouts. Just in case I am not as productive next month. Hehehe.

January Recap

Whew! Been very busy lately, but productive busy.

First, the project proposal I wrote for a non-profit organization was "approved in principle" by the UNESCO. I just need to work on a more realistic budget for the $26,000 that they are giving. We are now just waiting for word from the Japan Foundation, but we are optimistic that will come through soon. I don't get paid for any of this, my MIL volunteered me, but I do not mind doing it. It keeps my brain sharp and it is something verifiable that I can put in my resume should I decide to work again. I don't think anyone has been hired by development foundations for non-stop scrapbooking. Hahaha.

Second, been busy at my KiDS' school, like I always said, if I must be a SAHM, might as well be Super SAHM. Wink wink.

Third, I actually reached my target number of LOs for January. An LO a week, and January has 5 weeks, therefore, 5 layouts to share.

You've already seen my Kaya! layout which was voted favorite for January. Thanks to all who voted for my LO, much appreciated.

But I cannot share yet my Round Robin LO until everyone are done with their interpretation of Christine's layout by the end of this month so we will have to wait until then for it to be unveiled.

It Must Be Love

This is my first traditional layout featuring myself and my husband as a couple. It's not that I don't think my DH and I make a cute couple (har-har), but somehow I have always been hesitant to scrapbook our relationship. DH and I are not a touchy-feely couple and we have few photos (usually taken by our KiDS) of just the two of us.

I started this LO during a fun scrappy afternoon at Alby's in Cavite. You can read Christine's account here. But I have to mention that it was a learning experience scrapping with Cookie, Christine, Nina, Alby and Pia. I picked up alot just watching them make their LOs.

Hidden Journaling:
Seriously, it's too mushy to be made public.

Materials Used:
PPS and diecuts- Prima; Alphabet Stickers - Creative Imaginations and Provocraft; Rubons - Provocraft; Stamps - Inque Boutique, Autumn Leaves; Ink - Colorbox; Embossing Powder - Ranger; Fabric Paint - Pebeo; Ric rac - unknown.

The Process:
First time to use Pebeo paints, thanks Cookie for helping me overcome my fear of making mistakes. I heat embossed the word LOVE using crystal sparklers but unfortunately it didn't turn out so sparkly. I'm not sure what I did wrong, must practice heat embossing some more.

Love Elsie Challenge

The next two layouts are for Visual Creation's Love Elsie challenge. I bought the Zoe collection pack because I knew I could use the papers and embellishments to make LOs about my KiDS love for art. Really trying to justify the cost here so made two LOs.

The Scrapbook Plan

I will have to admit the papers influenced me to try to scrap like Elsie. I didn't quite work out, but still, I was happy with the final result. I went overboard with the fabric paints. Love the dimension and colors they added to my LO.

Journaling:
Here's a PLAN:
- sleep less (only growing children need to sleep for 8 hours a day)
- watch TV less (you do not really need to know who the Desperate Housewives are sleeping with)
- disconnect from the internet and scrap

Materials Used:
PPS, diecuts, rubons, stickers from Love Elsie; Pen - Staedtler Tri-Plus; Paper crimper; Fabric Paints - Tulip and Pebeo. I like using the Tulip brand more than the Pebeo as the paint flows more smoothly, the tip is also just right. For Pebeo, I learned from Cookie that there are other sizes of tips available.

Paparazzo Parent

Now with this LO, I finally let loose and just scrapped as I liked. I love the PPS with the many cameras so I took my cue from that and used it to make, what else? A camera! Everything in this LO is about my obsession with taking photos. I took the photo myself facing a mirror. I turned the photo upside down to be true to the principle of camera obscura (ok, it's not real world colors but I had to convert it to black and white so it won't compete with the colorful papers I used to form the iris or lens.)


Journaling:
MUST...TAKE...PHOTOS...
of every moment...
every detail...
everywhere, everytime
and to SCRAP them soonest.

Materials Used:
PPS, rubons, stickers from Love Elsie; Pen - Staedtler Tri-Plus; Fabric Paint - Tulip, template to create the iris, heat gun to make the fabric paint puff.

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So there you are, I am on track so far. I hope that I will still be able to hold my own this February. Still many things happening, what with birthdays to celebrate almost every weekend (Diego's, Kahlo's, my mom's and my mom-in-law's).