hooked on minis

i love mini albums. well, at least i loved the thought of making one. i especially like those that my friend Cabbie churns out so effortlessly. i like the fact that they contain compact stories and that they are not just tactile--the act of turning pages makes them interactive too, with each turn of the page unveiling little creative surprises. i totally dig that. so i started buying blank ones, each time with a resolution to start it. however, the only thing i managed to start was accumulating them blank books. i realized--maybe after the 10th one or so--that the reason i haven't done one yet is because i am so daunted by the planning of it. it just seemed to take too long to collect the photos and decide what to put on each page before i could even start to cut a single sheet of paper...or maybe i was over analyzing it, i don't know.

it took a little challenge from friend Mitch of Visual Creations to break me out of my mini album disability. she invited us one night to bring several small photos for a mystery project. i had a feeling it was a mini album. since i didn't want pressure, printed out small photos that weren't too important and that i could just as easily use for a multiphoto, regular 12by12 layout. true enough, when Mitch unveiled the mystery project that Saturday night, it was a mini album. so ok, i thought, at least this would get my feet wet. and also, she had started it already by giving us several sheets of paper that were already cut-up into 6by6's...and then she introduced us to this cute little thing--the Zutter Bind-It-All.

i have heard about it and saw pics on the net but never gave it so much as a second glance. i thought it wasn't much different from the ones at National Bookstore. wrong! other than the fact that it was totally cute in teal, it was also well built even for it's compact size. the ones at NBS can only cut paper and light chipboard at most, but this little baby will punch holes through the heaviest chipboard and even old CD's and light acrylic, too. now that sold it to me!

now, couple that with the fact that i was able to complete my first ever mini album thanks to Mitch, what do you think happened next? yup, just gotta have it! was able to score it from Vi's Lasting Impression almost the moment it was announced to have landed. i think Vi had that baby in stock for a whole couple of days!...haha!

below are photos of my first mini. i think i'm hopelessly hooked now.

Goofy Cousins

[after swimming and dinner, init na ang ulo ng little boy]
Raj: "waaaahhh... antok na ko...wahhhh..."

Raj: "yoko sa yo!!!"
Jas: "may bubulong ako sa yo..."
Jas: "bibiyan kita ng candy..."

Jas: "basta smile ka muna..."

Raj: "candy?"
Jas: "kaya smile na...S M I L E!"

S M I L E - pinilit ang smile--asim!

a typical Raj and Jas interaction