happily blue

those kits are soooo worth it! twice now, whenever Mia sends me their wonderful kits, i get all excited and kilig. you get papers for different manufacturers and they are all coordinated with matching embellishments (buttons, ribbons, rubons chipboard, even thingamajigs yeyeyey!) and there is also an acrylic stamp monthly...how cool is that! it's definitely not hard to make LOs look yummy because you get most of what you need all matching and if you get the add -on kits...that makes it even better. plus, it may even CURB your scrap spending...you don't need to buy a whole set of papers or embellishments to get to that one that makes the LO in your head complete. here are my takes on the November kit.

i dream of...

you know me, i just very occasionally do intricate cutwork, but this paper was just ASKING to be cut! just look at it, practically NO flower design overlaps! how can i resist...

also, this layout is special to me. i had these 3 photos since SM Idol finals because we were asked to prepare for 3 themes. this was my prepared photos for the My Dream theme. i have been meaning to scrap them but fail to do so for some reason or another. so when my first Studio Azul kit came and it was called Passage to India, i took it as a sign! even the rich oranges and greens of this kit match the photo. Nita even points out, hey, wasn't it the Dalai Lama who literally did to a passage to India!

the Dalai Lama's picture was taken from this book i had: Stages of Meditation: Training the Mind for Wisdom (it's a great read...and would probably be even better if practiced!). i scanned the book and edited with Photoshop CS to remove the letters. that was fussy photoshopping and took me all of a day! then i asked bestfriend Nita to take my picture with a white sheet as a background. again, with some ps manipulation, i took the background of the HHDL's pic, flipped it and made it my background so it would look like we were at the same place. lastly, i added the same color overcast to both pictures so it would look more realistic.

they say creative visualization sometimes works to make wishes come true, i consider this is my effort at it. :-D

of friendships and scrapbooks
these pictures were taken by Jeff Lopez and i just love it! it is the culmination of one of the most grueling challenges i have taken on thus far in my scrapbooking world. i love it because it show the end result: a bonding between people who were otherwise living in separate worlds but who came together just because of a hobby turned passion.

when i first saw the Prima Paintables paper, i thought to myself, THIS would be an interesting challenge. and, my oh my, it was! i have always wanted to learn to use watercolors but except for small card projects, i have really very little experience in it. this is a 12x12. i was so afraid i'd ruin it but once i got warmed up, i couldn't put it down! it was totally freewheelin' but i loved the end result. now, i want more of it!

oh, brother...
our scrapbooking is a way not only to preserve memories but to also leave messages or reminders to our children. this is layout contains my short yet important message for them. the title and the journaling on the arrow are actually lyrics from an old song...


...but the arrow with the hinge flips to reveal the message inside:


-------the--stitch--itch-------

you might have noticed by now that i love stitching my LO's . i even have a Simply Scrappy product called the Deckler and Stitching Guide for some manual stitching. however, i find that stitching via a sewing machine makes this activity faster. it also gives me a good excuse to play with my new toy. so for the above layout, i did some experimenting with the decorative stitches of my Janome and here is the result before i used it on the above LO:

even without fancy stitching, simply using different color threads makes a lot of impact. below is another example of some cool effects done with sewing. this LO is from one of the SMIdol challenges which i did with just regular, straight stitches. it's really easy and very forgiving. no need for perfectly aligned stitches.

try it sometime. it's a cool way to learn a new skill if you're not stitching yet or a fine way to use an old sewing machine for more than just making clothes or curtains.

sneakypeeky

Studio Azul November kit called Passage to India

when i got my first kit for DT duty for Studio Azul, i was so thrilled! it is sooooo lovely! the colors were rich and the content--the buttons, the papers, the Prima Paintables, and the damask clear stamp--oooweee, they were all so yummy i can eat them. good thing i was not hungry!

i wasn't sure if i was allowed to post it then so i kept quiet till i can clear it with the bosses (hi Tin and Mia!). but since the kit is out, i can sneak a bit of a peek of the LOs i made with them. watch for the whole LOs showing at the Studio Azul blog soon together with the equally scrappy tandem of T and M's LOs...

the DaisyDs paper was just begging to be cut! i don't do cutwork much but i just had to succumb to this one...so i channelled my inner Joanne Y. :-D

this one was my adventure into using the Prima Paintables paper and some watercolor pencils...it was certainly daunting but i love the effect and the challenge
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sew happy

an old love rekindled
when i first named this blog "all my scrap" and even when my little sidebiz was named Simply Scrappy, it was with the view to not only venture into scrapbooking but also into an earlier interest in another sort of scrappy hobby: QUILTING. i have never gotten past the beginner stage and i have tried very few projects in this hobby not because i lack interest but because i also encountered the same problems as i did with scrapbooking-- the lack of tools and materials. No, i don't mean the fabrics because there is an abundance of this in what has also become a scrapbooking destination, Divisoria, but mostly of the cutting tools and of a very important component of any hobby, i think: some friends/support group to bounce ideas off. inspite of this, my desire to quilt refused to die. here are some of my previous attempts at it.

this table runner is my first ever quilted project

picture on top: i am so proud of this full queen-sized quilt despite the fact it is is still unfinished. it is lacks the final touch--the binder (the edging). i started it when i was 7 months pregnant with Reine. i remember being sooo big and heavy while basting this project that i was having a hard time, but i was so excited and determined to finish it! unfortunately, i didn't complete the quilting because i gave birth before i finished.

an opportunity presents
when hubby had to go on a trip to the U.S. last week and since he still owed me my anniversary gift, my first instinct was to ask him to get me a Cricut. however, just before he left, i changed my mind. i wanted a new sewing machine. i am getting a hankering lately to quilt again. i did already have a trusty, old Brother sewing machine where i have sewn my few attempts at piecing quilt tops, and as you may have also noticed, some LOs, but i wanted a machine that can do the actual quilting. For the uninitiated, the creation of quilts have 2 main segments: first is the piecing of the quilt top, and second is the sewing of the quilt "sandwich" (top, batting and bottom). this may be done by hand and the beauty of the handquilted creation may be preferred by some but for someone like me who is perennially time-strapped, doing the quilting with a machine is probably the only way to go.

a few days before hubby left, i suddenly remembered this very nice lady, Johanna, who i met at one of the industrial exhibits my husband and i occasionally attend at the World Trade Center at the CCP complex. Her company sells Janome sewing machines and this is also where i saw the sewing machine i longed and pined for, the Janome 10000 (which later had even better siblings the 10001, and now the 11000). This machine is the sewists' dream! it is a top of the line, computerized embroidery, quilting, sewing mean machine that even comes with a colored touchscreen control! it has over a hundred decorative stitches and embroiders monograms, patches, appliques and even does logos. however, i just couldn't afford it since it costs about P12oK. since we met about 5 years ago, i thought she might have new models already and wanted to ask her if she had the $250 kind i saw on Ebay that i was shooting for hubby to get to me. she didn't but we had a pleasant exchange about all things quilting. it was then that it occurred to me that i did have someone right here who can not only be a quilting buddy but a quilting resource as well. it was then that i encouraged her to set up a quilting yahoogroup for us pinoys. we are hoping other "hidden" enthusiasts will eventually find us.

dreams do come true...sorta...
to make this little story short, i am now the proud owner of my very own sewing, quilting, embroidering mean machine. and i got it for a very, very good price deal. although i am still not able to afford my dream Janome 11000, i was able to acquire (actually more like "extort" from dear hubby) the Janome 9500. i had the brochure of this machine pinned to the side of my computer some years ago because i heard this is good inspiration to achieve your dreams through visualization. heck, i should've pinned up a higher model! i'm not really complaining though because this is also a computerized machine with more features than i can even handle at this time. however, it has less bells and whistles than the 10001 or the 11000. An example is it's touchscreen which is monochrome instead of colored. but, it has all of the features i need to accomplish my quilting goals so i am one happy momma! since it does mean embroidery too, i am inspired to do that now also. you can probably tell by looking at how many thread colors i have suddenly acquired. you can also see here my first attempt at it.

this is why i took no time sequestering another nook in our already congested home as my new sewing area. i finally took out my stash of scraps from out of my tampipi and neatly stacked them so i can easily access it for projects soon to come. hopefully, i can take this hobby to the next level. as a matter of fact, with this machine's capability, i can even make a modest sideline out of doing monograms and personalizations or coporate logo patches. that is, IF i can still find the time for that. (do i really need sleep? :-D) and can you guess already how my LOs will look from here on? and hey, i think i have an good excuse to explore mixed media collage! :-D below are more brag pics of my new baby...

my new sewing nook...
i'm betting this wouldn't be as neat once i start some serious sewing!

the top of the machine opens to reveal the bobbin winding and threading area. just look at the many decorative stitches this baby has: it has 98 decorative stitches and 90 built-in embroidery designs plus 3 monogram fonts! however, more embroidery designs and fonts may be added via the computer. my inner geek finds that waaay cool!

the top also hides the additional machine feet--this baby comes with 10 feet in the package already

no knobs! it's touchscreen to pick out decorative stitches or shift to embroidery mode


i love this auto-threading feature. a pull of the lever and voila! no more fiddling and saliva-wetting of thread ends...hehehe...great for bad eyes like mine.

the tool essentials are also incorporated for easy access. yet this detaches so i have a free-arm for sewing and embroidering tight spots like sleeves.

Johanna even threw in some Janome Digest magazines for project inspirations. i'm in sewist's heaven!

Marj's scrap-bukingan RAK

yes friends, buking nga that i am not an organized person! unfortunately, organizing only occurs to me out of necessity--i only find the need for it when i can't find things already. bestfriend Nita on the other hand lives to organize. i even suspect she got into scrapbooking for the many little things one has to find a home for. i'm sure you'll love her organized scrap space when she gets to post it at her blog.

i finally found a few moments to take some pics of my stuff but not to tidy things up before i shot them so you see everything with accompanying dust {wide grin}. neither am i in the mood to get picture pretty shots because hubby took my Nikon with him on his trip. somehow, my borrowed point and shoot doesn't put me in the mood to get good shots. so what you see here are "raw"--it's how my space really looks on a daily basis--one big mess. i had half a mind to give up on taking pics for shame but one more glance at the prizes at stake made me abandon even that. so here it goes, Marj...bahala na...

long time...

i know...it's been a while since i've blogged! i'll be making entries very soon but in the meantime, i just wanna share with you slide.com 's cool new feature...well ok, it may have been there for quite a while but i discovered it just days ago. it now has songs from hot new artists and it even comes with a You Tube link so you can watch a little clip, if you like, as you are bloghopping. i also like the fact that now that it is linked, the song completes (as opposed to segments only) and that it does not loop (which gives me LSS-last song syndrome-you know, like when the song also loops in your head all day).

so i changed old my song to this one by Daughtry (whose songs i really like) and especially this one "Over You" because i am also a Smallville fan. not to mention that Tom Welling who plays Clark Kent is among my list of hot cuties! {insert kilig squeal here}. so i suggest you also click on the video link if you like either. enjoy!

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and speaking of You Tube, i would also like to share this hot, HOT new product by another of my favorites in the scrapbooking world, Tim Holtz...GRUNGEBOARD!

i don't know about you but this one has me drooling. can't wait till it gets to here!

little tip on watching and listening: since you cannot watch the video and listen to the music at the same time, you need to either let the song finish first before playing the Tim Holtz youtube video or you can pause the song first by clicking at the slide's youtube section (bottom right) and hit the little PAUSE button that appears when the song's video enlarges. then you can click the Tim Holtz window to start it.
another tip on watching You Tube videos: if your connection is slow and makes the video irritatingly choppy, click on the PLAY button then as it starts, press the PAUSE button. this will make the video load first. notice the gray progress bar moving along. when that is fully loaded, restart the video. it would then play smoothly.

taking 'clear page' photos

i made this layout as an entry to the Visual Creations Hambly challenge. i thought it would be cool to join it since i've been hooked on making clear pages right after the SMIdol Scrapfest contest made me get over my fear of using them. after making this page though, i found it equally challenging to take pictures of them! i stuck the transparent LO on black fabric which i hung on our room divider. but being all glossy, it was hard to get a good angle that eliminates the glare. i almost always take LO photos near the window because the natural light makes the color come up better and the glitters or bling also show up better. however, where there are lots of light, there are also lots of glare. here was my first shot of it.

so i called my trusty assistant to stand on a chair and hold up a white sheet by the window. that did the trick! no more glare because it diffused the light and removed the reflection of the grills from the window. however, i was still not too happy with the result because i thought it just made the LO look like it was made with black graph printed PPS when i wanted to show the transparency as you can see on this photo here.

so i tried again. this time, i propped the flexible Hambly transparency background on a clear 12 by 12 acrylic sheet so it would be stiff enough to stand. i could have used a plate stand to prop the LO up but i didn't have one so i stacked throw pillows up and covered them all up with a white fabric sheet. the pillows weren't high enough so our blue sofa was peeking through but perhaps that added to the effect of showing the transparency better. the slight setback is that colors are a little less saturated because i had to move away from the better window light and had to make do with the florescent lighting. but i guess the overall effect is probably better.

although i have used Hambly Prints but twice yet, i actually like them a lot. i think they are also a natural complement to my clear acrylic sheet products, too. i have several sheets of Hamblys but have hardly used whole sheets of it yet on one layout. so when the challenge rule was to use 2 Hambly products, i found it totally difficult! well, ok... it was probably due to the fact that i did not want to use one all up on a single LO kasi sayang, e. after all, they are quite pricey... at least for kuripots like me. but i keep getting stuck so i finally gave in. i used 2 whole sheets here, one Hambly paper print (Big Vintage Circle) and a transparency print (Mini Graph) as the base. despite it, i kinda liked the way it turned out. it looks different from what i usually do and i got to try something new (this is the first time i tried printing the focal photo on transparency). i probably never would have thought to do it this way so i say hurray for difficult challenges :-D

my kaya 6 back to basic entry: wacky girl

this one was totally difficult. especially for the spoiled-for-choice-of-embellisments-and-tools scrapbookers like me, going back to basics with just cardstock and pens/watercolors scrapbooking was suprisingly, totally NOT easy! but again, being the puzzle-lover that i am, i was torn between kissing Donna for giving me something to boggle my mind with or strangling her for...well... the same reason.

again, after all's been said and done, it was actually cool doing this one. for one thing, it makes me appreciate my accumulation of CS and makes me happy that i used mostly my scraps here.

thanks again Wonder Donna for cooking up that extra challenging Kaya blog call and for making up that funny intro story. will kiss you now when we meet again soon... :-D

naka-TAG-oo...

been remiss answering my tags with all the goings-on so since it's a holiday today, i will get up to speed on them right now.

This tag i got from Cookie, Roxannee and Helga:

Instructions: Each player starts with 7 random habits/facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

7 random facts about me:
1. i love gardening but i hardly do any since i went crazy for scrapbooking
2. i am a chocoholic.
3. i keep wishing i have more time to read and do all the crafting i want
4. i would like to be more organized but mess just seems to follow me
5. i aim to go to the gym everyday but i haven't been there for months
6. i dream of a new computerized sewing machine: the Janome 11000 and i want to quilt again
7. did i mention i love chocolate? :-D

A - Age: 41
B - Band Listening To Right Now: Maroon 5
C - Career: entrepreneur
D - Drink or Smoke: i've quit smoking 6 years ago and i now drink coffee, milo, or lemonade
E - Easiest Friends To Talk To: my friends since highschool, Nita and Tess
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Gummy bears
H - Have a Boyfriend: yes, my hubby of 20 years
I - In love: of course!
J- Junk Food You Like: PIZZA!
K- kids: 5
L - Longest Ride Ever: ride? to Baguio lang yata!
N - Names For Your Future Kids: ayoko na!!!
O - One Wish You Have Now: win the lottery
P - Phobias: roaches
Q - Favorite Quote: dream as if you'll live forever. live as if you'll die today. - james dean
R - Reasons To Smile: my baby Raj's funny antics and new scrap stuff
S - Sleeping Hours: iba-iba but often after 12 am
T - Time You Woke Up: today, 8 am
U - Unknown Fact About You: i'm really shy...(maniwala na kayo pls)
V - Vegetable You Hate: ampalaya
W - Worst Habit: can't save money
X - X-rays You’ve Had: chest
Y - Yummy Foods: sus madami ito: pasta, salads, steak, cake, green tea, sushi...
Z - Zodiac Sign: aries

and i got this fabulous tag from the FaAaaBULOUS Donna:

and this SMiLE tag from Idol Cabbie:

thanks sistah, you make me smile too (and go ooooh and wow, too!) whenever i visit you blog and see you on Fridays...:-D

i hope i have not forgotten any other tags...if i have, please remind me ha... and to YOU reading this, consider yourself tagged with any of the above.

cabin fever part 2: blue lady

not everything was all bad for me the past week. despite the lows (missing Joanne's despedida and my baby boy catching dengue), i think i hit a great big high, too--perhaps as high as they come scrapwise. i won the DT spot for Studio Azul! Ooooweee! so now i am officially a Blue Lady for the next 6 months. Nita was kidding me that the title doesn’t suit me at all. for one thing, hindi daw ako “lady”. secondly daw, my color is hardly the calm and serene blue. i am more of the “green” kind daw kasi...loka talaga itong bespren ko e.

i was hesitant at first in putting in an entry and i wasn’t sure if i had enough time to make the deadline. Mia and Tin were asking friends to join and when i got some messages from Tin and a call from Mia, i gave it serious thought. i realized also that i had a possible entry already almost done. there was this layout i haven’t posted yet that answers to their requirements. i just needed to tweak it a bit and it would be ready. i initially made it as an entry for the Kaya 5 challenge but it didn’t make the deadline. that was probably serendipitous. here it is.

i love it when i am able to use my scraps. although most papers here came from BG’s Infuse line, i also used here some Prima paper and K&Co scraps from previous projects.

Journaling reads:
The best things i admire most about my mother are her courage, her tenacity, and her dark head of hair. Despite being 73, she still has mildly salt and pepper hair which she does not even bother to dye. I certainly hope physical attributes as well as strength of character are genetically transmittable :-D

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this stint is my first ever DT duty and, heck, am i ever so nervous! however, at the same time i am excited especially since Studio Azul's kits are oh, so yummy! i hope i do it justice. thanks so, so much Tin and Mia for giving me a chance. here is a blinkie i got from Tin. to borrow from my lookalike (ahem!), Paris H., "That's hot!"

cabin fever part1: joanne

2 days in the hospital with my dengue-stricken little boy is giving me a bad case of cabin fever. been wanting to do some blogging but unfortunately, the room where we are is too far from the wifi transmitters so i cannot connect to the net. fortunately, the computer occasionally picks up an unsecured transmitter and i can do some "sneaky" internet time.

the past week has some pretty steep highs and lows for me. one of the lows is being bummed out for not being able to see Joanne one last time before she shipped out to Australia. i was sick then and hubby wouldn't let me out. so to at least have some "Joanne" time that same day while all my friends were spending real time with her, i went to work on the project i intended to give her before she left. the Scrappin Moms had given out a bulletin that they were going to present her with an album of 8 by 8 layouts and anyone who wanted to send her off with one can submit on that day. since i wasn't able to work on it that week due to being sick, i thought that same day as the despedida party (where i was not at) was the best time to do it. it was the closest thing to a hug i could give her personally. i sent it later by mail.
it's an 8by8 clear acrylic which i hope she can hang somewhere in her new home (your new scraproom, maybe?). i felt it had to be an acrylic project so Joanne can clearly associate it with me :-D i put our 'together' picture hidden so she can decide to put it up without me being in the way.

hugs to you my dearest Joanne. i think you clearly remember how you have been instrumental in all things scrapbooking in my life -- from the time we met at Scrapfest 1 to my memorable SMI journey-- and how you fanned my scrapping addictions. no matter what i say, you know i don't regret a single moment of all that. soooo glad i met you. and even if you are far from me physically, i know the friendship will go on. maybe one of these days, i will give you a hug in person again.

sick...

been sick most of the week (fever due to strep throat) and i am not happy i probably cannot make it to friend Joanne's despedida in Makati tomorrow. and speaking of sick, you might like to visit my other blog to see my nonscrapbooking thoughts. a warning though--it's not a happy post after today's explosion at glorietta. my heart goes out to those caught in that tragedy.

inque me up!

the moment i set eyes on these babies, i knew i was doomed...i think they are next big thing in rubberstamps. why? these rubberstamps by Inque Boutique come in cuuute colors (not just the usual red or black): green, violet, pink, blue rubber colors AND they have an image index at the back so, even if they are not clear, when you mount them on acrylic blocks, you can approximate where your image will go. of course the ubiquitous clear stamps available these days are easier to position being ultra clear but i would prefer to invest my money on RUBBERstamps hearing that they actually last longer than the clear ones. oh, and speaking of money, these cool, cute, compact rubberstamps are CHEAPER too! how can it get better than that? Mitch retails the big ones for PHP600.00 each, the midsize ones are PHP175.00 and the small square ones are PHP50.00 each! you will definitely go home with more than one!

so yesterday, Nita and i lie in wait, ready to pounce, at the fresh shipment that we heard might arrive at Mitch's place. under threat of her life (haha!), we had instructed Mitch (owner of Visual Creations) to call or text as soon as they come. as soon as the text came, Nita and i flew!

these stamps are soooo worth it's price. don't forget to get your Simply Scrappy acrylic blocks, if you don't already have them, to mount these stamps. Mitch has those too. i suggest you run to the store now or you won't catch 'em. happy stamping!

scrapfest 4 Xperience

truly an Xperience because scrapbooking-wise -- it was eXtreme! the day started out quite inanely with me carrying an absurd amount of luggage--1 big rolling suitcase, an overnight bag for my Cuttlebug, 2 shoulder totes, 1 bursting AMM tool tote and 1 big box with Simply Scrappy merchandise for Visual Creations. Tin was kidding the day before that we would probably look like donkeys and i think we did.

i was making a lot of friendly talk and having a good time meeting people i only see during events but nagging deep inside was a little fear for the upcoming face-off between the SMIdol participants. of course seeing some shopping goodies worked a long way in keeping my mind off my apprehension.

after lunch, we were called to settle. the contest was about to start. they passed us our mystery kits. Liz announced at the mic prior to this that she was expecting a loud squeal from me when we see our kits and i then understood why. the big lot of 12 by 12 clear acrylic sheets the Scrappin Moms ordered from me were to be used on us! it didn't occur to me then because April took down names and quantities at Scrapbukan's event so i thought this order was for them.

we were given 1 hr to plan and shop for the LO and 3 hrs to scrap it. this was my first time to do a project on a clear page ever even if this was a Simply Scrappy product because it was new. i haven't even launched it yet and the Scrappin Moms had the first order. so we had this kit that also contained 3 2sided patterned papers (PPS) 1 yellow flower, 4 eyelets and a strip of black adhesive fabric. my first reaction other than the surprise at the acrylic was thankfulness that the colors were oranges and greens. it was because i took a risk with the photos i brought to scrap. although i desaturated the colors making them more easy to blend with colored PPS, there was a prominent color, a reddish orange because of the santan flower. it was great that my photos will not clash with the PPs given to us.

my heavy luggage was not for naught after all because i was able to use the embellishments i brought along (laces, eyelets, ribbons and journaling cards). but the key tool i used for this particular project was my Crop-a-dile! ooooo...i can just kiss it! Pia said "...maximize the full creative potential of the acrylic"-- and because of the Cropadile, i was able to do that because this tool cuts through the acrylic! with a clear base (the acrylic), double sided PPS and eyelets in the kit, it occured to me that i can maximize the creative potential by using BOTH sides of the acrylic since the 2-sided paper will show through on the back side, too! the technique was to limit the use of glue and this was how the Cropadile was important. i would attach via eyelets so the backside will be clean. another challenge here was how to position everything such that the backside will be as utilitarian and pretty as the front side. it was NOT easy because there were positions that looked good in front but looked off at the back. but, again, it felt like a puzzle to me and that was the key to get me really going for it.

luckily, in good time, i was able to figure out the self-imposed puzzle. the pieces fell into place and i started assembling. the 3 hours went by so fast but i was able to glue down the last flower before time was up! i made it! i had low hopes of winning when Scrapfest started because i failed my practice LO time. this is why finishing was my ONLY personal goal (i felt it would be worse not to finish at all) and that being so, i already felt like a winner! the game was done for me right then already because i conquered my own weakness. i was so elated...and i had a back-to-back LO which made me proud of myself. here is my finished entry:

here is the front side...

...and this is the back side of the LO
the only things actually attached to this side is the picture,
the flowers and the blings. all the rest were from the front
showing through at the back

other than myself, i was soooooo proud of dearest friend Nita too! she even finished first among all of us. and this was a person who was almost as slow as i was! to top it off, her LO looked fabulous! right there and then i knew we both got what we went there for. we came. we saw (the kits). we conquered (ourselves). it cannot get much better than that!

when elimination time came, the fears came back all over again! and it was not because i was hoping to win any (i was already a winner in my book remember, no matter how the contest turns out) but the Scrappin Moms were so goooood at building suspense! they did the eliminations American Idol style with matching identical dialog "{names}, you are safe!"...aaarrrgghhh! so that's how it felt, standing on stage and being called this way! i tell you, it was emotional!

then when the final 3 were called and i was still standing there, i was floored! weeeee! that meant i had a secure prize to take home...hahahah! how's that for a capper to a wonderful day! Cabbie won the Grand Prize title and i couldn't be happier. she truly deserved it because all through out the rounds, she had great technique and outstanding layouts. not to mention that she is a very good friend and Friday night scrapmate. the other runner up is Tin, who is also a good friend and is someone i admire very much for her funny wit, sweet disposition and artistic talents. gosh, there's probably no better ending to this suspense-filled yet lovely day.

Pia kiddingly interviewing us why we should be the next idol

my fave shot of the day: the moment Cabbie wins! what a capture by Jeff Lopez

my great big bear hug from the IDOL!

the top 12 - segment 1

the top 12 - segment 2

"thesis defense": the scrappin moms asking as to explain our LO

the Picks of the Week awards

the Idol and Runners-Up with the Scrappin Moms

probably the only sad note to the whole exercise was that we had to say goodbye to a dear scrapper friend Joanne who is about to embark on a new life in Australia. i just have to console myself with the fact that the internet will at least be a way to keep in touch with her. Joanne is a visionary and celebrity in the local scrapbooking community and i know that even if she is far, she would probably still be making waves to "get the Filipinos on the scrapbooking map". indeed, if not for my fondness for Joanne, i would not even have joined the SMIdol challenges. i started out doing it for her but ended up doing it for myself and learning and overcoming my weaknesses along the way. and the best part of all is that i made friends and met more talented people who i would otherwise wouldn't have known had i been locked up in my own little scrapbooking world. but you see, this is how Joanne operates and touches other people. she is one true scrapbooking angel.

for sure, next year's Scrappin Moms Idol Challenge will be as exciting and knowing these ladies, they would probably outdo themselves. i shall be eagerly and happily watching the new batch then for sure. the Scrappin Moms will definitely take them for a great scrapping ride...and it's all so worth it.

photo credits: Jeff Lopez, Au Lim, Michelle Sonza

below are a recap of the LOs that got me to the finals. it can finally be posted.