scrapfest!

i have to confess, i am still crazy infatuated with photography so much that my excitement to go to the Scrapfest stems not from wanting to do some scrapbooking but rather to capture moments with scrapbookers in their natural environment...amidst scrapbook stuff and suppliers galore.

probably it was incidental too that the new lens i was (lovingly) harping on hubby to get for me finally got a go signal from him on that very same morning. didn't waste time that day and i was instantly at Hidalgo in Quiapo to pick me one. but that's another story to be found here naman.

so here are the harvests of that day from my cheap, yet trusty Nikon using those new lenses. i hope you enjoy viewing these because i absolutely had fun shooting them.



if you would like to get a photo from this set, you are welcome to visit my flickr acct here so you can get the hi-res, printable image. you can only access it via this guest pass: http://www.flickr.com/gp/7428945@N06/57M62x . TO GET the hi-res file, click on the little icon on top of the photo that says "ALL SIZES". Then pick Original Size, then Download Original Size.

creeping out from under a rock...

hi all! i haven't been to my blogs in a while and i haven't been active in the scrapbooking yahoogroups, PS and SE either...i've been, well, busy. some of the happenings in my life lately were not so great. for one thing, Nanay was in the hospital for several days due to an accident. this was quite a blow physically, emotionally and financially especially since the next school year and therefore enrollment is coming up. however, not all was dark. there were still some bright patches. i've been growing with my camera and photography and am trying to practice more. i had scrimped up some to finally attend a photography workshop and after that, i chased after one of the Philippines' most colorful festivals, the Aliwan. please check out my stories and photos HERE if you've got some time to kill.

style?!?

i am always stumped when asked with the question: what is your scrapbooking style? i have tried analyzing what mine is but i quickly realized i don't really have one. i often envy people who have clearly defined styles because i think that is the hallmark of a good designer. after all, the divas i adore all have distinct styles. we all know Elsie Flannigan's fun and funky look, Cathy Zielski's clean and crisp style, even Iris Uy's romantic and highly detailed signature. i'd like to emulate them but somehow, i just can't stick to one style. perhaps i like playing with my big girl toys too much. or maybe i am reading too many 'look' books at once such that i get influenced by all of them. then again, maybe doing the work i do just made me too malleable to the design whims of our customers. whatever it maybe, i have to admit i enjoy constantly switching flavors be it with the food i eat or the creative things i do. it's just that it stumps me when i have to answer the question, what is your scrapbooking style? so to this, i just answer "eclectic"... heehee... whatever that means!

among the 'styles' i enjoy are:

vintagey/shabby/collageyMaterials used: Studio Azul kit (Prima Paintables, Prima notepad, Daisy Ds rubons and paper, buttons, American Crafts Thickers), Twinkling H2Os, metallic embossing powders, Versamark ink refill, printed butterfly, MM brad, Around the Block labeller

with lots of sewing or fabrics
Materials used: Studio Azul kit (all patterned papers used here, AC Thickers, buttons), rickracks and ribbons from Divi, Sizzix letter dies, sewing machine and variegated thread.

linear/graphic
Materials used: Studio Azul kit (patterned paper, AC Thickers), Quickutz letter dies, computer and printer for journaling and white letter printing.

fun/funky
Materials used: Studio Azul January kit (patterned papers, AC Thickers, grid clear stamp), Sizzix die (heart), foamies, ATB labeller, Image Tree letter rubberstamps

clean and crisp/graphic

{Pinoyscrapbookers' Kaya blog entry for March}

Materials used: Bazzill cardstock, AC patterned paper(stripes), handcut letters, Quickutz letter dies, computer and printer, blings from Divisoria, glitter glue

among these, i have fun with the messy styles the most but love the crisp look best of all. i think it will be a long time before i can settle on just one style...or maybe it will never happen. one thing is for certain though, scrapbooking will always be a fun, mercurial journey for me.

know no boundaries

this layout was done as a March GDT task for Visual Creations. i so love Mitch for giving me the chance to play with those wildly gorgeous Marah Johnson papers. i have always wanted to do some layouts about my tats and piercings but i have always put it at the backburner. especially on the subject of the tongue piercing--i couldn't figure out a way to present it such that it will not look indecent (haha!)

so when this particular paper came along, i knew i wanted to give the piercing layout a shot. however, the other challenge was that this paper was actually in the Lovestruck line and originally looked like this. it had the word Love written across the top left! but i wanted to retain the feel of the paper so i didn't want to cut it up. so i took out some acrylic paints (3 shades) and a couple of Distress Inks to erase out the word and brighten up the entire paper. then i stamped out the word KNOW and added some aluminum window screen to complete my title: Know No Boundaries"...perfect for showcasing a wild tongue-out picture! haha!

i also wanted to brighten up the word Wild Side so i thought of embossing it with some bright red embossing powder. the trick was using an embossing pen to follow the shape of the letters so i can put the powder on it. i so love my Zig embossing marker now since i discovered this trick to emboss non-stamped spot images.

this is the effect

{click to enlarge}

i put my journaling on a pull-out behind the photo.

and it reads like this:

i say...“Boundaries are for sissies! Well, ok…although I am ACTUALLY a big sissy for pain, I don't let that stop me. Before I get a piercing or a tattoo, I circle the shop for quite a bit, trying to muster the courage to go ahead and do it. Why do I still do it? Mostly because, I love how the look rocks (and shocks!) and but also because I like the self-challenge of going ahead and doing something I am totally scared of doing.

Not pain, not fear, not age, and certainly not other people's opinions are boundaries for me…just as long as I don't hurt anybody else, I like rocking my world a bit. It keeps life interesting for me.”

BTW, i lost the tongue piercing a while back. i had a mouth sore so i took it out for maybe 5 days. the hole closed up on me despite that fact that it was over a year old. i intend to get another one though some time soon because making this layout made me miss it more.

That's it...thanks for viewing :-D

a couple of sneaks

i have a couple more Studio Azul LO's unposted yet. one for the Jan kit and the other for the Feb kit. here are the sneak peeks:



i hope to share with you the full LO sometime soon... :-D

life spots: round robin layout

several months ago, CV or Christine V. threw the idea of a round robin game to the members of the Pinoyscrapbookers yahoogroups. read about it here where it was featured in Scrapbytes (the Scrappin' Moms ezine). it was such a fun game even if it took a several months to complete. i would definitely join in again should there be a 2nd round.


it so happened also that on the date i received the layout from Zabeth (the person who handed me down the LO to scraplift from), i was chatting with CV on YM. our topic lead us to how cool and funny Cathy Zielski is and then CV pointed me to an entry on CZ's blog...which led me to another blog called Twelve on the 12th. those were my sparks of inspiration for this layout. love the concept! (i used 9 photos instead of 12 because 9 is my favorite number) now, it is one of my most favorites LOs to date. i love the idea behind it! so real life. i think this would be one of those layouts i would love to look at in the future because it is like a little time capsule. yup, i am promising myself to repeat this layout every so often from now on.

layouts with the Studio Azul February kit

i am so attracted to simple, graphic lines these days so i gave it a whirl here. what's funny is that i find it soooo difficult not to fill up space with embellishment! does this mean that i am a naturally messy person?!

Journaling reads: you little babies are my second shot at motherhood. when i first had your elder siblings, mama was quite young. it was eight years after your di-tsi was born that i had you Reine, and then you Raj, only less that 2 years after that. i must admit, i am a different mother from the one who raised Kiko, Gabey and Kara. being older has brought more maturity, more involvement. i breastfed you both longer that the few short months that i did my first three children. although, your siblings are good kids themselves, i am hoping to do a better job with the both of you. although i still work a lot, i’d like to think i give more attention to you now because i realize that time will not wait for me. i have to be here...now... because you simply grow up too fast. I love you, my babies.

_____________________________________

i think we will definitely have to stop breastfeeding by the time the next school year hits becauseRaj will have start schooling already. this is why these moments are so precious now and are must-scrap moments for me.

Journaling reads: Since Raj nonw only breastfeeds at night, he would often "negotiate" with me and say this line when he needs comforting. It means he will snuggle up to me, suckle at the breast then, i count 1,2,3. At 3, he releases the nipple. That shor moment calms him down and he give me a grateful smile. I find this totally cute and funny!

webster's page entry

this is my entry to Lasting Impression's Webster's Pages challenge. it's another rare layout of hubby who seems to be photograph-challenged. or maybe he just does his goofy poses whenever his family is around because on this "normal" looking photo, he was with his buddies. anyhoo, i enjoyed doing this one because these days, love letters between us are practically non-existent...after 20 years of marriage, it feels...i dunno, maybe a bit corny. at least for the kind of couple that we are. we were never the mushy, romantic couple even during our unmarried years. however, on the scrapbook page, it just felt right to bare my feelings. go figure. and bestfriend Nita had a great big laugh about it!

just learned to do youtube

yey! finally learned how to grab videos from the handycam and how to upload to youtube! didn't know it was so simple after all. so i'm giving it a whirl here and on my other blog. these videos are not from the handycam though but directly from the cellphone. didn't know youtube will directly process the mp4 file format from a Nokia till now. really cool.



this video was an interview by some guys from Net25 for a show called Tribe last year on a scrapbooking segment. the video was sent to me by my nephew Jasper who tried to watch the show very quietly so he can get a good capture. i was totally thrilled to see myself on TV! hahaha...i would love to get my hands on a clearer copy but i'm too lazy to call the network for it. hmmm...maybe i will one of these days.

why i love epson printers

i have been hooked to Epson printers since maybe the mid-90's. before that, i used Canon printers. but because i am always after the best resolution for photo printing, i like Epson over other printers. they are usually always the first one to invent the industry standard for the highest resolution. then the other brands play catch-up to them.

the only time i chose Canon over Epson was maybe in the early 90's because it was Canon who first invented separate ink cartridges per color (which is therefore more economical), then they invented the first wide format desktop printer. but since Epson caught up to that too, i never went back to Canon. i am not really saying that Epson is always the best brand or has the best models. the market and the industry is too fluid to ever presume so. i am just saying this according to and with relevance to my experience so you have to take this advice with a grain of salt. besides, i will not get a red centavo to promote Epson's brand.

i have friends who have asked me several times which brand i would recommend so i decided to blog about it. this is always my FIRST advice to them. Whatever brand you may want to buy, IF photo printing is your main purpose, get a printer that has at least 6-color inks ( therefore it would have 6 ink cartridges) . this means it should have the usual 4: cyan, magenta, yellow and black, plus 2 more cartridges for light cyan and light magenta. why? because this will provide the photo print that has the closest approximation to a photo lab print. if you have big bucks, there are also printers that has 8-color inks which is even better.

my Epson is the R230. it has a resolution of 1440 dpi x 5760 dpi. i got it about 2 years ago for about PHP6,500.00. however, the better choice these days in the economical photo printer range is the R290 (which Cabbie says retails for PHP9,000) because it now has what Epson labels Claria inks. this means the ink formulation is acceptably archival (which Epson claims would last 100-200 years before it starts to fade depending on light exposure and other factors). remember, these are tests are done via controlled simulated lab conditions since Epson has not been around that long to really test in actual chronology. but i will take their word for it.

another thing you might want to look into when purchasing your printer is the ink droplet size which Epson measures in picoliters (pl). the smaller the droplet size, the finer your photos will look. for example, my R230 has a minimum droplet size of 3 pl. Cabbie's R290 will go as small as 1.5 pl. so the droplets are almost half the size of mine meaning this is definitely better. however, unless you have a killer eye for this detail, it is almost undetectable--almost.

if you ask me what my dream printer is, it is still the Epson R1800. this is a wide format printer that will print your 12 by 12 digi-layouts in full size because it is actually 13 in. wide. it also has what Epson labels UltraChrome Hi-Gloss® archival inks which is even glossier than Claria and is water resistant. this is also the model that has 8-color cartridges. what is stopping me from getting it is the price. it retails for about PHP39,000.00. another printer model locally available that prints wide is the R1290. it is a lot cheaper but it does not have archival inks if that matters to you that much.

TIP: you may have noticed by now that the Epson series that are made for photos usually start with the letter "R". those models that start with a "C" are office printers. they can print photos too but the quality is not as good as those that start with "R".

On Epson INKS:
Ria brought up that her Epson clogged. i had experience with that, too. there are only 2 reasons why that happens. the FIRST is: ink refills. don't get me wrong. i LIKE ink refills. i had the Epson C59 which i outfitted with a refillable ink system. it saved me a whole lot on ink costs especially since i have 3 kids that has lots of assignments that need printing. i bought the C59 for PHP 2,300.00. it eventually clogged because of the refills. when using refills, KNOW that after a while, you will have to throw the printer out and get a new one. but for the low price of the printer and the low cost of the refills, it was worth the savings on original cartridges. i have already printed hundreds of documents before it died.

the SECOND reason is: fake inks. these are the ones you buy thinking that they are originals but they are not. i once bought some from a reputable store in Megamall. i did not know they were fakes because they LOOKED like originals, complete with seals and holographic stickers. the only time i discovered they were fake was when i brought my printer to the service center. they proved it to me by simply putting in original ones and running a couple of print head cleaning cycles. the printer worked perfectly from then on. so if you bought fake inks, no amount of head cleaning will unclog it. as a matter of fact, it could even damage the printer more.

which bring me to the next topic--print heads. with Epson, the ink cartridge is less expensive. than HPs. this is because everytime you buy an HP cartridge, you are also buying a new print head. Epson's print head comes with the printer instead of the ink cartridge. if you ask me, i prefer it this way. the head will last long enough if you do not abuse the printer (such as inserting too thick or too rough paper OR using refills). another common mistake is thinking not using the printer too much will make it last longer. actually, if you do not use the printer for too long, the print heads will clog also. so you have to make sure you use the printer or run a cleaning cycle maybe at least once a week.

savings tip: if you want to use your printer for office docs only, go ahead and get a cheap printer and use refills. then throw out the printer when it eventually clogs up. but NEVER use refills for your photo printer if you want the best color output and want it to last longer.

what is a chip resetter?

this is a hot, HOT tip for Epson users. and i think this is one of the best reasons to get an Epson photo printer--chip resetters! you see, Epson has gotten wise (and maybe a little greedy) with regards to the ink refills. they know you save a lot even if it will eventually damage your printer and you do not get the best looking output. so they outfitted their ink cartridges with a microchip. what does this do?

long ago, the computer "senses" ink levels because they are timed. the computer actually just approximates ink level by tracking how many pages you have printed and reports a certain ink level amount. when the ink level reaches empty, it tells you to change cartridges. however, this is inaccurate. usually, there is still some ink in the cartridge even if the computer says it is empty. i used to circumvent this by simply reinserting the cartridge back and pushing the button that indicates i have changed it. with the new microchipped inks, this does not work anymore. even if you reinsert the cartridge, the computer will know it is still the old one and will refuse to print.

this is where the chip resetter is useful. it works by touching the cartridge chip to the resetter. a red light will blink and when it turns green, the cartridges microchip is reset. this means that when you reinsert the "run out" cartridge, the printer will "think" that it is new and will start a cleaning cycle and then show up on the printer as a FULL ink cartridge. in my experience, the cartridge is actually still half full to one fourth full when it reports it has run out. this actually translates to many, many more pages. so you can imagine how much savings you will gain. the R230 cartridge costs PHP 585.00 would you like to throw out even one fourth of that? probably not.

chip resetters may be bought from some stores in Greenhills. it would cost maybe around PHP500.00. just remember that these are NOT from Epson so don't look for them in the big Epson dealer stores. look for them in the smaller general computer stores. ask for the one specific to your printer model because they are cartridge-specific.

minor setback to using chip resetters: once the cartridge is reset, the printer "thinks" that it is full when it is really not. you have to expect that at some point in time, it WILL run out while the printer reports to you otherwise. you will know so because the latest photo you are printing suddenly looks off-color. it is at this time that you change to a fresh cartridge. also, it is a good idea to keep track of the cartridges you have reset already by marking them (maybe with a permanent pen on the actual cartridge) so you do not lose track (like me!) of which ones are already reset. anyway, once you replace the run out (yet wrongly-reported-to-be-half-full cartridge) one, the printer will report it to be full again.

that's it!...i hope that helps with the decision-making. happy printer hunting!

the rose

every valentine's day, since maybe 15 or so years ago, we hardly ever go out to celebrate on the day itself. traffic is usually horrible on this day specially in the vicinities of restaurants and nightspots such as Timog Ave. or Makati Ave. and waiting out a long queues at restaurants is not our idea of romance. so we would either go out on the day before or the day after valentine's or--heaven forbid, for new lovers out there--not even go out at all. but it's always a great idea to have some lovin' fun, valentine's day or no...and so we do.

i hit this bright idea courtesy of Joyleen and Cabbie. i was hitching a ride in Joy's car with, Nita, and Zabeth a couple of days before Valentine's. We had just come from scrapshopping at Helen's. Joy pulled out this intriguing rose Cabbie bought from her for hubby Ro. my eyes widened as i made out the details of the big white flower. it was no rose! the flower head was a bundled up brief (or boxers?) and i burst out laughing. i thought that was pretty ingenious so i planned to make one. but if you don't have the time or the inclination to make one, just buy from Joy's friend here. it definitely looks better than mine does.

anyways, the next day, i bought a long stemmed fake rose at Crossings for P80 something and a pair of Jockeys for P150. i was looking for a red one but they didn't have it. i found a white one with a red garter and settled for that. i experimented with the ingenious folding to make the rose head but i just couldn't get it right! finally, i just rolled it up the best way i could and tied a ribbon around it to stop it from unrolling. Yep, it would have been really easier to just buy it.

had fun fiddling with it though (at least at the beginning) and i seemed to have made hubby happy with it as you can see here. did i get anything for valentine's? no mam i didn't! but that's ok, he's getting the credit card bills soon and i'd have to maybe duck...or, hopefully, he would remember i was sweet enough to give him this on valentine's day so i wouldn't have to.

circle scallop punch

got this tool from Ella H. when she visited the Philippines a few weeks ago. Ella is a Stampin Up demonstrator and i wish i could've met her personally. unfortunately, (or fortunately, since that might have meant more damage to the wallet) i was not available on the day she met up with Nita. anyways, i was so happy with my purchase such that i immediately found use for it. since this thingy is not exactly cheap, i thought it would be great to use it for more than just scallop circles. a quick search of the net showed this. it's called tea bag folding. this is my resulting card with the technique.

i thought that was pretty cool technique and good use for the scallop punch. of course, a regular circle punch is also usable for the same project, too. as long as it is big enough to fold. i have two more toys i got from Ella: the embossing pad (which one uses so there are less stray embossing powder on the paper surface) and the color spritzer. took me a while to decide on buying that one but i finally gave in. i knew i'd be kicking myself if i didn't get it and wanted it later when Ella is not around anymore. so till next order, Ella. i hope you had as much fun in the Philippines as i had using my new toys from you. will post projects on them the soonest.

cabbie tagged me

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C: At the end of the post, the player then tag 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: i was a graphic designer and had my own little graphic design company.

Things on my to-do list today: finish layouts for a museum in ayala, type quotations for a design company client, make deposits for helen and nette :-D

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
probably live the same way i am living right now (with a few minor upgrades people wouldn't even notice) and just be an anonymous philantropist (since i won't have to work my ass off anymore). also, maybe travel just a bit more with the family.

3 of my bad habits:
forgetting to burp silently in public, late night TV, compulsive scrapshopping

3 places I have lived:
manila and qc only e...

5 jobs that I have had:
aerobics instructor in the early 80's (ok, don't laugh!), mcdonald's crew person as a student in college and then when i graduated became one of those supervisors in blue there, training supervisor for a music instrument company, insurance agent, graphic designer

5 Things people don't know about me:
gosh, this is hard...i'm an open book! let's see...
- i like trying (almost!)anything at least once...even if it scares me.
- if pushed too hard, i can fly off the handle (spectacular fireworks...road rage style) though this is rare.
- i wanted five kids when i was yet unmarried, changed my mind when i was, but still got the five kids...mostly accidentally!
- i can smell out a rat...i pride myself for being an excellent judge of character (most of the time, at least) especially of men...thus far, i've distinguished which are the good ones...and this includes the one i married.
- i'm a sucker for people with a great sense of humor and people who can play musical instruments.


so there, now i tag COOKIE, JOYLEEN and PIA

colorful

i still needed to do one more Studio Azul project but i was just too excited. so i emailed these to Tin and Mia and i was happy they liked it. these projects are not my usual stuff because the papers were...well...different! in a good way that is. but it was nonetheless a challenge. it reminded me of my BG Obscure papers which i excitedly bought as soon as they came out but have never touched yet. i'm that way when i like the papers a lot. i'm too afraid to use them lest i ruin them.

but since this is a DT project, i can hardly put it off, of course. i just had to be brave enough to cut. one of the papers that i like a lot but didn't know what to do with is this Andy Warhol-ish print. i simply couldn't get myself to cut it. so i decided to play it up instead. and this is the result.

materials used: Quickutz Metro SkinniMini and Studio Classic, Provocraft Rolling Stamp Circa 18pts, Luxe Designs Bustier Bowie from the Studio Azul kit

being this colorful, it reminded me of the Cyndi Lauper song. if i were to dedicate it to anyone, it would be my best friend Nita. and since i met her in 1978, come June of this year, we would be 30 years together. i pretty much know her inside out and she knows me as well. so yes, this song fits the bill on how i feel about her. and it's also totally worth the 3 nights i worked on cutting sticking all those letters...geeez, and i thought it would be a simple LO!

the next project was totally a fluke. i didn't exactly know it would turn out this well. i wanted to do a project with no pictures so i thought it would be a great time to break out that clock i bought (more like ambushed) from Cookie at the last PS EB where she did a demo on altering clocks. for this one i used just one back-to-back patterned paper. i thought the rub-on from the kit would be perfect for the center of the clock to set-off the hands. i was also happy to ffinally find use for my Making Memories grommet tool. the big eyelets were a perfect accessory to make the number markers.

materials used: Tinkering Ink Spin paper and Luxe Designs There's the Rub rubons from the Studio Azul kit, bling and buttons also from the kit, Making Memories grommets and grommet tool, Quickutz Metro SkinniMini

one thing i can really say about kits is that they are soooo much fun to use. kits make you go out of your comfort zone and try out new things. couple that with the surprise of getting a package every month gives me the exciting, tingly feeling of opening a Christmas present everytime.

20 years and still lovestruck

here's the complete page of my layout for Visual Creations using the Marah Johnson papers Lovestruck line which i totally adore. it is currently the cover LO for the February issue of Scrapbytes e-zine.

i was totally lucky to find a half decent picture of us together especially with hubby's penchant for goofing up in photos. it wasn't perfect because this was just taken as a quickie pose while we were dining with the family at a chinese restaurant in Roxas Blvd. good thing a little Photoshop magic fixes it all. yup, we have just celebrated 20 years of married bliss (or at least as close to bliss as it gets :-D) just late last year. i'm looking forward to 120 more. if you ask hubby, he will always say the contract expires by the 25th year. hehehe. he started quipping this when we attended my brother's 25th wedding ceremonies and noticed that the couple signed a contract in front of the priest after the mass. "ay...puede palang hindi pumirma ulit!" he whispered to me. hah! i know him too well though, he can't live without me {wink}...

other materials used: MJ suede flower, MJ flying heart brad, MJ naked chipboard painted with Making Memories acrylic paint, MJ chipboard sticker (fate), Prima flowers, lace and buttons from Divisoria, Making Memories Jersey foam stamp, AC Thickers sprayed with Radiant Rain shimmer mist, QK Sophisticate dies, Adobe Photoshop, chalks for colorizing the photo