Friday, September 20, 2013

Cutie Pie


So many baby pictures, so little time!  I have three nephews and five nieces, so there's plenty of baby pics that have yet to be scrapped.  This is one of my favorites and probably the earliest taken of any of my nieces and nephews.  Baby Danielle is barely a day old when this picture was taken and even then, she already stole our hearts.  

This digital layout is my entry to challenge #31 at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog, as I am still not able to work in the craft room.  But I must confess, I am definitely warming up to digital scrapbooking.  I'm still very limited by my skill level though, because I still don't know how to use Photoshop.  Believe it or not, all of the digital work I've done so far has all been due to Powerpoint. :))

Here's the sketch provided as inspiration for this challenge.  It was designed by Melissa Bonifacio.

  

I used a lovely digital kit that can be downloaded for free from ShabbyPrincess.com.  It's the Spontaneous Delight kit created by Carrie Stephens.  I've been wanting to use this kit for a while now because the colors are just all of my favorites.  And then I made the title using the Messy Edge alphabet from Free Digital Scrapbooking.


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Hello there


This is the first time that I'll be submitting an entry to the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog's card sketch challenge.  This is also the first digital card I've made and I used the Not Too Shabby Penelope sampler collection from ShabbyPrincess.com.  It seems that I'm slowly getting the hang of making digital layouts/cards, but I'm not ready to shift completely to digital.  I still love working with things that I can actually touch, but I'm unable to work in my craft room, hence the digital projects.

This card was inspired by a sketch by Melissa Bonifacio for challenge #30 on the FSCB.


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Goofy Girl


I made another digital layout because I have no access to the craft room as of the moment.  I'll probably be able to get back to my regular crafty habits (as regular as it can be) in a week or so, when the craft room will no longer be occupied (it's being used as a guest room of sorts).  So for now, this will have to do.

I used a kit that I downloaded from ShabbyPrincess.com called The Promise Collection.  I do love the subdued colors and the pretty elements, which are all great for this page that I made about my youngest niece.  She's a very happy and active toddler, and she moves around so much that I have a hard time taking a proper picture of her sitting still and smiling.

This layout is my first (and hopefully not the only one) entry to challenge #29 at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog.  It's based on a sketch by Melissa Bonifacio.


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Crafty corkboard



This is probably one of the quickest crafty projects I've ever made.  I didn't check the time, but I'm pretty sure it took me less than half an hour to finish this.  And that already includes my OCD (hahah).  But kidding aside, this is very easy and a lot of fun to do.  All you need is a plain corkboard, paper/washi tape, and push pins.

I got the corkboard from our friendly naighborhood Japan Home (it seems they're popping up everywhere) store.  It's not that big, it measures less than 16" x 11", but it's sufficient for a few photos and post-it sized notes.  The paper tape I used here is wider that the wooden frame, and this is quite useful as I folded the tape over the edges to give is a more finished look.  Now be careful of splinters when you work on covering the wood.  The OC part of me wanted mitered corners, but this is not really necessary.  The pattern on the tape was small and dainty, that the breaks weren't really that obvious.  Now the push pins were a stroke of luck.  I bought them at NBS because I thought it was cool to have hooks on the push pin itself.  And it just so happened that the colors coordinated. 

When I bought all the three items, separately as it were, I hadn't planned on putting this project together.  But looking at these last night gave me an idea.  Now wasn't that serendipitous?


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Page Remake: Nature Tripping


I wanted to do all the pages from our AL road trip in a series, but I still have a few more pages to go.  For this one, I was in a fussy cutting mood.  I had patterned paper scraps with these really pretty (and big!) blossoms that made me want to cut them out.  For the leaves, I embossed some off white cardstock and cut out the shapes as well to sort of balance out the bright colors.

Now, Mario is a picture taking kind of guy.  And he also loved to do goofy poses, hence the pic with him crawling in the dirt (he reminds me of Gollum, only happier :p).  And after a while he took a photo of me I looking tired (I actually was, in that bottom right picture).  And it's because I was wearing the wrong kind of footwear, not even shoes, just the kind of thing that you slip on.  So the hiking was a bit of struggle for me and I had blisters on my feet afterwards.  And I never wore those slip-ons again. :(

Journaling:  "Even though Rod & I had a tiring day (and night) with the wedding on May 27, we tried (well, I tried) to get up early and go along with what Mario had planned for us the next day.  Unfortunately, Rod couldn't come along as he was going to spend the day with Bryan and Sheryl (the newlyweds) and their other friends & family.  Mario and I headed to Oak Mountain Park.  The hiking was nice since we had great weather that day.  Also went to the lake to go pedal boating (not sure what it's really called :))and got to see a lot of ducks.  I found that the city of Birmingham, Alabama has the same feel as Baguio.  That made me a little homesick.  But I also had a nice and relaxing time. :)"

Materials: Patterned paper (K&Co), pen (Faber Castell), others - cardstock and rub-ons.

A Happy Kind of Tired


I have long been interested in digital scrapbooking, since grad school in fact, and have downloaded many many different kinds of digital kits and elements.  But I've only been able to try my hand at it recently, and although I've made a few attempts in the past few years, this is actually the first digital layout that I've ever completed.  I'm not quite sure that I'm comfortable scrapbooking like this, and to be honest, I still prefer to work with my hands, and in the end have something that you can actually touch.  But I think that this method has its own merits and is worth exploring.  Though given my own limitations, I probably won't completely convert to digital anytime soon (or maybe ever).  But we'll have to see, won't we?

One huge convenience is that you don't have to print out pictures.  And if you're like me, this entails selecting the photos I want to scrap (this takes me a long time, unfortunately), and then go to the photo lab to have them printed.  For now, I actually have plenty of pictures at home to scrap.  Blame it on my huge backlog!  But I can see that this potentially maybe a hassle because all the pictures I have from the past seven years are all digital and therefore will take a while to sort and file away, let alone find the ones that will go onto my scrapbook layout.  But I digress.

This is my entry for challenge #23 at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog.  We're allowed to make digital entries now, so I decided to try it myself.  I made this layout using the Plentiful kit downloaded from ShabbyPrincess.com.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Page Remake: Quirky Photography


The real reason for our trip to AL in 2000 was that Rod was attending (and also singing at) his friends', Bryan and Sheryl's, wedding.  I on the other hand, just finished my preliminary exam (more like a thesis proposal defense) and simply needed a break.  If I remember, everybody encouraged me to do so, including my boss/adviser.  So there we went, and it was really very nice of the couple, whom I haven't met yet, to also invite me to the wedding.  I though I would mainly  be a spectator, because of all the wedding party, Rod was the only person I really knew.  But since it was mostly Filipinos there, it felt like one big family.

Now that long-winded intro has very little to do with the journaling in this layout, except that the pictures were taken at the reception.  We took many pictures and these were some of what I will call "outtakes".  Although this is on hindsight, as I thought they were legitimately serious photos when we were taking them.  For instance, that picture of me at our table looks like Rod was really taking a pic of the centerpiece and I just happened to be smiling in the background.  In the entry way of the reception hall, Rod took another picture of me that looks perfectly normal, except that there's a big plant behind me that it looked like I had this huge green head dress. :))  And then the picture of the cake table was just that, and  not all that good because the cake just looked washed out.  The blame is entirely on me, I'm really not much of a photographer. :P  I also included one piece of ephemera - my place card, which I actually kept because of some notes I wrote on the reverse side about a dance I saw at the reception.

Materials: Patterned paper (K&Co), pearl stickers & die cut chipboard accents (All About Scrapbooking), distress ink & ultra thick embossing enamel (Ranger), others: trim and DIY enamel dots (googley eyes painted nail polish); tools: pen (Dong-A), stamps (Inkadinkado & Creative Imaginations).

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Sweet Boy


l've always been fond of layouts featuring a sunburst design and have been wanting to do one for quite some time.  So when I saw the sketch for challenge #22 (by LG Belarmino) at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog, I just knew I had to try my hand at it.


Believe it or not, all the patterned paper that I used  on this page are scraps from a project I did weeks ago (Father's Day ATCs).  The sunburst design is always a good way to use up those scraps, which would otherwise be lying around, and cluttering up my work area. :)

And despite the subdued color palette, the design gives it a cheerful mood.  The hand stitching also gives it a homespun feel.

Materials:  Cardstock (Elit), patterned paper, brads, alphabet stickers, & trim (All About Scrspbooking), pen (Stabilo), and embroidery floss (DMC).

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

ATCs: Dad, love you!


Another swap that I joined that had a Father's Day theme was an ATC (artist trading card) swap that was hosted by Kathleen Hernandez at the Filipino Scrapbookers Club (FSC).  It actually is a joint project among members of the FSC, Philippine Crafters Association, Treasured Memories Online Scrapbook Group, and Pinoy Scrapbookers.

I made nine this time because I joined two groups, which made this swap twice as much fun as the last one.  It was twice as challenging though, as I found it hard to come up with a masculine themed card.  So I ended up making ATCs that still had hearts and flowers, and flourishes and bling... I guess it is something a daughter would make for her dad. ;)

And some of the other participants admitted to me that they had some difficulty, too, and yet everyone seemed to be up to the task in the end.  There was quite a number of shirt-and-necktie type ATCs, but it was interesting to note that each has its own unique interpretation.


Materials:  Cardstock, patterned paper (All About Scrapbooking), vellum, paper flowers (Prima), gem stickers, jute twine;  tools: pen (Dong-A) and die-cutting machine (Making Memories Slice using the Vintage design card).

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Tags: Dad the Best


Roughly a month after Mother's Day, of course, comes Father's Day.  I had to make projects for a couple of swaps that I joined for this particular occasion.  I made my set of tags for TeaTime and Craft's tag swap really early so that I can send them along with my Mother's Day tags (and get to save on shipping). 

It's a really simple tag with sentiments and a quote that goes, "To her, the name of father was another name for love," (Fanny Fern, Fresh Leaves).  I wasn't sure how masculine I wanted this tag to look like, but it turned out more with a nostalgic/vintage feel, which I'm quite happy with.

Materials: Cardstock, patterned paper (DCWV Heirloom Stack), paint (Reeves), gem stickers (All About Scrapbooking), ink (Ranger distress ink), others - eyelets, charms, jump rings, cord; tools: stamps (Making Memories & Nikki Sivils), die cutting machine (Making Memories Slice, using Vintage design card), hole punch (Crop-a-dile Big Bite), border punch (Carla Craft).

Monday, June 24, 2013

Mother's Day Card: MOM


Still working on backlog, as you can see.  This past summer has been quite busy, with back-to-back deadlines for projects.  And here is the last of the Mother's Day projects, a card for Memory Lane Store's Mother's Day card challenge. We were given this sketch by Kathleen Llanura (of KATSpaperfinds)  as inspiration for our cards, and I thought the sample card is just adorable.


So this time, I was leaning towards a shabby chic-style card.  I must confess, I am still trying to find my personal style (though I think I'm more of the clean and simple type), and it's so much fun trying a lot of different things out.  My card actually didn't take too long to make since I already had a design and color scheme in mind.  So after I set aside the flowers, lace, and ribbon that I wanted to use, I cut out all the shapes (bird, frame, leaves, and flourishes) with my Slice and then sprayed them with glimmer mist.  But before I glued all the elements down, I dry embossed the cream colored cardstock that went on top of the card base.  The finishing touches were the letter stickers that spelled out "MOM" (I love this vintage-type font) and a little bit of bling on the oval frame.

I'm actually very happy with the finished product given the amount of time I had to make it.  But I was sure that I wasn't going to win this challenge given the caliber and experience of the other ladies who joined (click here to see all the entries).  And on top of that, aside from a winner that is decided on by a panel of judges (Top Choice), a second winner (People's Choice) is determined as the entry that had the most number of likes, which I'm not so excited about.  I'm just not the kind of person who solicits for likes... any kind of challenge on Facebook that involves likes, I'm very weary of.  But I just joined this one for the sheer joy of creating something.  And for that, I got a bunch of freebies from Memory Lane Store. I was so happy when the package came in the mail. :)


Materials: Cardstock, glimmer mist (Tattered Angels), ribbon & lace (Carolina's), gem stickers, letter stickers, fabric flowers (All About Scrapbooking), mini paper roses (Kraft Yard); tools: Sizzix Texture Boutique (with Textile Texture embossing folder by Cuttlebug), and Making Memories Slice die cutting machine (with Vintage design card).

Monday, June 17, 2013

Mom, love you so. XOXO.


And so after coloring using watercolor pencils in my last project (Mother's Day ATCs) I wanted to get in touch with my inner child again by coloring some more in these tags I made for a Mother's Day tag swap organized by Ms. Sasa at TeaTime and Craft (formerly Graceful Crafting).  This time I colored in digital stamps that I purchased from The Greeting Farm.  I used these two in particular: the Cupcake Anya digi and the Valentine Anya digi.  Aren't they super cute?


So here I was, trying out different coloring materials - markers (Stabilo, Staedtler, Sharpie) and colored pencils (Prang and Staedtler).  I didn't dare try the watercolor pencils, because I knew they would run. And for this particular project, I wanted the lines crisp and really distinct because the stamps have a cartoon-ish quality that I really love.


And so with all the experimentation that I did, I ended up using different combinations of colors and some are more vibrant than others.  The ones with the subtler colors were done in pencil, and the brighter ones, of course, were colored with markers.  I've found that it takes much more effort to use the pencils than the markers (even if they pencils are better for detailed work), which why there are only three of them out of the twelve.  Markers or pencils, this is indeed painstaking work - coloring with highlights and shading in the hair, skin, and clothes.  But it did help that I was able to draw inspiration from Kristina Werner's coloring her stamped images, especially in this one card, from Day 25 of her 2012 Holiday Card Series.  Isn't she gorgeous?

I also anticipated that I had to do some fussy cutting here, and I practiced first.  Even though I've always loved paper crafting, I must say, I'm a little bit lacking when it comes to cutting with scissors.  I even have a hard time cutting a straight line with them, that I'd rather use a box cutter than scissors.  But the trick here is to try to cut as close to the outline as possible, but not to worry if you go beyond it.  You can always use a black marker to fix the booboos. :-)  In facts, I ran the black marker all around (along the edges) the fussy cut image to give it a more finished look.
 

All I had to do now was to assemble the tags.  I used assorted polka dot patterned papers for the background, which included assorted scraps from previous projects and newly purchased paper from Kraft Yard.  Stamped the sentiments, then added fabric and paper flowers, some ribbon, eyelets, twine and plastic charms and here they are the finished tags!  Whew.

My Mother ATC


This post is long overdue.  Back in April, I posted that I joined a tag swap and was so excited that I included lots of pictures (sort of a step by step) of the tag-making process.  Well, soon after that project, I joined another swap - with ATCs (artist trading cards) this time.  It took me quite some time (again) to figure out what to do, but in the end I was captivated by an image that I downloaded a long time ago from The Graphics Fairy. This image of a mother holding her sleeping child is just so sweet that it gives my heart a little tug every time I look at it.  The daughter is even holding a doll - how adorable!

I used watercolor pencils to color the image, as I wanted the bright colors to make it cheerful, but I also wanted it to have a softer look.  I also included a snippet from the poem "My Mother" by Ann Taylor, which is just as sweet.  And then added just a few small embellishments (gold ribbon, lace, and mulberry flowers with pearl bling for the centers) to finish it off.

I must admit though, that this project wasn't as easy and straightforward as it's described here.  It took me a while to figure out what paper to use - it's heavyweight paper that's more like watercolor paper than cardstock.  And what to use for coloring - I tried different kids of markers, colored pencils, and ended up with the watercolor pencils because they gave me the best results.  Although it took so much time (even to just finish five of these) because I had to wait for the paint to dry.  I guess it was a good thing on hindsight that this summer was super hot, so that it didn't take as long for the paint to dry.  But all in all, the effort was well worth it, as it is a very special ATC for a very special woman in our lives - our moms!

Special thanks to Ms. Kathleen B. Hernandez for hosting this Mother's Day ATC swap at the Filipino Scrapbookers Club.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Page Remake: Road Trip!


I really should include the before picture, but suffice it to say that the page I made was totally bare.  I relied on the placement of the pictures and that was about it.  And in pencil I wrote "Crazy in Alabama" which I thought was a plausible title, and the title of a movie that was shown not long before (1999) I made the page (2000).

It's a little more than twelve years ago, but the memories of that very first road trip I took when I was in the US are still very vivid in my mind.  My friend, Rod, was going to attend a wedding in Birmingham, AL.  I, on the other hand, just finished my thesis proposal defense and was badly in need of a break.  So we drove down to Alabama, and spent one long day getting there.  The trip was great though, we stayed at Mario and CK's apartment for a few days.  When we drove back, we left after lunch and got back in the wee hours of the morning.  It was exhausting, but definitely worth the long drive.

This is also my entry to Challenge #20 at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog.  I've been a little busy with other projects (tags and ATCs) for swaps that I joined over the summer break (which I have yet to post), that I haven't done any layouts of late.  I think I might've gotten a bit rusty, but I still have many pictures from this trip that I plan to make several pages out of them.

Materials:  Patterned paper (K & Company), chipboard die cuts and alphabet stickers (All About Scrapbooking), pen (Stabilo), others - vellum, metallic paper, recycled paper bag.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Chubby Cheeks


I haven't done any layouts in a while and I wanted to make one using the sketch for challenge #18 at the Filipino Scrapbook Challenge Blog.  The last entry I made for the challenges was about a month and a half ago.  And now that I'm currently working on moving to and organizing a new craft area, I'm looking forward to getting more craft stuff done.  For starters, it was a lot easier putting this layout together because I already have most of my tools and supplies sorted out (they just need to be put away).

Here's the sketch by Kathleen B. Hernandez for this current challenge:


So my take on the sketch is fairly simple and straightforward, except that I used two photos instead of one in an 8.5"x11" format.  I've had these pictures of my niece for a while now (she's a little girl now).  The journaling goes:  "You're not used to having your picture taken yet, that's why you're not smiling.  But still, you're oh so cute!!!  CHUBBY CHEEKS Jasmine Dana / August 2008". 

Supplies:  Patterned paper (K&Co., DCWV, & Kraft Yard), brads (Jo-Ann Scrap Essentials, All About Scrapbooking, & Simple Joys), embroidery floss (DMC), flowers (All About Scrapbooking & Craft World), die cut leaves (Yellow Violet House).

Monday, April 29, 2013

Create Art



I just realized that I haven't posted anything in over a month.  I've been busy towards the end of March, with graduation and Holy Week.  But with the first few weeks of April, I guess I have just been enjoying my summer break. :-)  So when I joined Graceful Crafting's first tag swap, I had to start getting back to work (not that it feels like work when you're doing something you love).  But then I drew a blank, I had no idea what I was going to put on the tag.  To finally get going, I just decided on what papers to use, and then I cut the base of the tag.


The guidelines specify that it's supposed to be a 3" x 4" tag.  I used a smaller tag as a guide to cut the top corners to make it look more like a tag.  I then punched a hole at the top with my Crop-a-dile Big Bite (I know it's overkill, but for the life of me, I couldn't find my so-tiny-it-can-fit-in-my-small-hand hole punch).  It took a while, but after I had cut out all my tags, I already had a bit of an idea of what I was going to do.  Since this new Fancy Pants Designs clear stamp set (I think it's called Pollen Dust) that I bought online from Memory Lane Store came in the mail, I thought it would be perfect for this project.



One of the stamps was a row of diamond shapes with script on them.  I stamped three rows in Black Soot distress ink to create a harlequin pattern on the background.  Although the paper/cardstock (Sweet Nectar by K & Company) base did have a pattern on it, it was subtle enough to not clash with the stamped background.


I only stamped the upper half of the tag because I was going to cover the lower half with polka dot patterned paper (Laced with Grace by Glitz Designs), although I used the doily lace edge punch (Martha Stewart Crafts) on the bottom before I attached it to the base.


I also stamped the main sentiment on the tag which is "Create Art" from the same stamp set I used for the background.  I had to center it carefully on the artisan label type stamp from Making Memories Noel stamp set.  It actually had some holly that I had to cut out/cover up later, but I like this shape a lot.  This time, I stamped the sentiment and label with Versafine ink in Onyx because I wanted a nice crisp image.  I cut the label very close to the design, and by the way, the paper is from the same Glitz Design paper pack.  I also attached some gold/copper ribbon before I glued down the sentiment.


I then added a large-ish paper flower (Prima) to cover up whatever remnant of the holly is left on the sentiment.  I don't have many flowers of the same kind, so I just chose which ones would go well with the color scheme (aqua/copper/black).  And for those flowers that were a little lighter than I wanted them to be, I used a little DIY glimmer mist to adjust the color.  I added some bling, set the eyelets, and added the black ribbon to the tag.  Then I distressed the edges of the tag with distress ink.

I also wanted to include a quote that went well with the sentiment: "Let yourself be drawn by the pull of what you really love."  It's one of the lines from a poem by Rumi, and it rings true with me and crafting. :-)  I thought I would be done at this point, but somehow, it still didn't feel quite finished.  So the tags sat like that for several days, until I just added some punched out teeny tiny butterfly shapes (which I only glued along the center, so I can fold the wings up) and a little bling flourish to the flower.  So here they are, the tags I made for my first ever tag swap.  I didn't expect to take so long to make them, but the conceptualizing and waiting for inspiration to hit me took much longer...  I would say, more than half the time (or much more than that!) than the actual work.  Needless to say, this will not prevent me from joining more swaps.  I think I might have 2 or 3 lined up as I write this entry.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Hiding in Plain Sight


Since Easter is only a couple of weeks away, I decided to make an Easter-themed layout.  It was supposed to be my entry to challenge #15 at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog, but for some reason (and I'm sure the time on my computer is correct), I couldn't link up my entry anymore even if it was more than five minutes 'til midnight.  I was so disappointed because although I didn't think I would make the deadline (as I only started tonight), I was done with around 20 mins to spare.  All I had to do was take a picture of my layout, edit and then upload it here, and then submit my entry to FSCB.  But it wouldn't let me *sigh*.  Serves me right for leaving it to the last minute (yet again). 


In any case, this page was based on a a beautiful sketch by LG Belarmino.  I wanted to make something really happy and spring-y (the season, not the metal coil).

Since we have such a big family with little kids, we have an Easter egg hunt every year on Easter Sunday.  We've been doing it for some time now, but the one pictured here is the first one that my nephew, Dyllan, joined in.  He was the youngest among the kids being just a little over one year old at the time (2008) and needed some help from his Mama and Papa.  I think he had a lot of fun though, because he looks forward to the egg hunt every year.  


This year, we're planning to decorate our eggs because we missed doing it last year when we used plastic eggs.  Which were very bright and colorful and had candy inside it, but it took away from the fun of doing something crafty :)  Here are some eggs we decorated way back in 2008.  


We deliberately left them not-so-well-hidden, so the kids (half of them toddlers) would find them easily.  Can you spot them?  There is actually a good reason for having taken the pictures of the eggs we hid: in case they weren't found, we could still track them down (as we'd likely forget where they were all hidden).  The adults do not have as good a memory as we used to :-b

Materials:  Cardstock (Tuscany), pen (Dong-A), ink (Versafine), flower stickers (K & Company), pearl and gem stickers (All About Scrapbooking), others: butterfly and flower shapes, paper medallion (April Joy Lim via Lasting Impressino), ribbon (Carolina's).  Tools: border punches (Martha Stewart Crafts), alphabet stamps (Studio G).

Sunday, February 17, 2013

The power of LOVE is infinite.


As things have gotten busy again at work with the end of the schoolyear looming, crafting has been the least of my priorities as of late.  I was actually unable to make the deadline for the last challenge at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog.  But I really liked the sketch (it's by Lady Grace Belarmino) and proceeded to make my own take on it the day after the deadline.  Here's the sketch:


I wanted to make a valentine layout, that wasn't necessarily one about romantic love, but still about love nonetheless.  It's about a picture of Jonas with Mommy and Daddy taken on the morning of New Year's Day back in 2005.  We drove out to Calatagan, Batangas to spend time on the beach when we had a friend from the US staying with us for a couple of weeks.  I love this picture and I'm not really sure why, but it almost always tugs at my heartstrings to see such joy and pure lobe between a sweet little boy and his grandparents.  Jonas actually had a rough night, he cried for most of the night and barely slept probably because the place was unfamiliar (he kept us up, too).  But the next morning, he was back to his sweet adorable self.


When I was starting work on the layout, I chose the base first and found just what I wanted in a kit that I purchased from Dinah Maningat.  I've been wanting to use blue with brown and the Webster's Pages double sided card stock from the Natural Springs line was just perfect.  Apart from the flowers and assorted die-cuts that I used as embellishments, most everything else on this page are scraps from previous projects.  It seems that I can't get away from using scraps, which is not necessarily a bad thing, except that I still keep an eye out for new scrappy stuff even though I don't have the space to store everything.  Maybe I should do a new year's resolution layout next. :))


Materials:  Patterned paper and card stock (Webster's Pages, All About Scrapbooking, Papemelroti, Autumn Leaves), die cuts (K & Company, Making Memories), flowers (Prima), brads (All About Scrapbooking), crocheted lace (Yellow Violet House), glitter glue (Leeho), Liquid Pearls, and Glossy Accents.  Tools:  Zutter Bind-It-All, Making Memories Slice, Sizzix Texture Boutique, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and Textile embossing folders. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

How cute!


My  very first layout this year, 2013.  I have lots of projects planned, but had deadlines last week that had to be met.  And so I grabbed the chance to do something crafty this weekend.  Well, after I slept most of the day yesterday to get rid of a migraine :(  I finished this really really late last night (or really really early this morning).  This page is about my niece, Jillian, describing how cute and adorable she was when she was two years old.  She's still cute now (at six), but her cheeks and little fingers are chubby no more.



This is my entry for challenge #12 at the Filipino Scrapbookers Challenge Blog, based on a sketch by Kathleen Hernandez (click here to see her blog).  I hope it doesn't look too much like one of my entries for challenge #3.  It seems I'm not yet over my hexagon fixation and I needed to do some more.  And personally, I think this has a different feel - a bit sweet and girly.



A close up of the photo and the area around it.  All the hexagons were cut out of scraps of patterned paper from the handmade gifts I made over the holidays.  Flower punch outs and photo mat are also made from paper scraps.  It seems that for the past several layouts I've done, I haven't used any brand new paper (except for the card stock base).  And that's a good way to start the year, isn't it? :)

Materials:  Cardstock (Corona, Orange), patterned paper (Paper Reflections), adhesive ribbon (Shallow Grass), ink (Ranger, Bic), alphabet stickers (All About Scrapbooking), pearlescent pain (Liquid Pearls, Pebeo), flower punch (HBW), others - flower brad, gems, glitter glue.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Twelve Crafty Days of Christmas - Day 10: Birthday Reminder Calendar


A long, long time ago, when the calendars that we checked out everyday were hung on walls or standing on our desks (and not saved in our electronic gadgets or online), birthdays were noted down religiously each year so that we'll remember to greet that particular person on his/her special day.  It did seem to require a lot of effort to remember birthdays (making them all the more special), but I've found from several sources that if you have a single calendar where you wrote down all your friends and family members' birthdays, you won't have to go through the tedious task of jotting them down each year.  This calendar would have only dates (no days - MTWThFSS) so that you'll know who will be celebrating their birthday on any given month.  Of course, it's not as convenient as saving birthdays on your phone and just be reminded yearly by an alarm that you set only once.  But it sure is a lot prettier to look at. ;-)

I decorated each month according to the season or the major holiday that falls on that particular month.

For January, a fresh start to a new year, it seems fitting to 
remind oneself that "life is for living".

For February, the sentiment reads, 
"Beauty is found in many things, but most of all in love".

For March, when the school year ends here in the Philippines, 
and summer break starts, it seems an appropriate motto to "seize the day"s.

And then for April, with the lazy days of summer drifting by, 
it quotes William Carlos Williams - "In the summer, the song sings itself."

You get the idea.  Start your year with something crafty.  Make your own birthday reminder calendar.  :-)