a mini for Kara

my elder daughters sometimes feign tampo, whenever i make layouts for their 2 younger siblings. "lagi na lang sila!", they would kid me. "well", i would retort, "mas cute sila e..." however, it was just time to make one for Kara especially since she just graduated from elementary. with great grades too--which totally inspires this proud mama for this project. below is the result:









Materials used: Studio Azul April Kit Going Postal, Simply Scrappy acrylic mini album (Visual Creations carry them) organza ribbons, Sizzix filmstrip and ticket dies, Stampin Up label and spiral punches, EK Corner punch, Fiskars border punch, ATB labelmaker and Dymo tape, Autumn Leaves stamps, Collage Press stamps, Catslife Press stamps, Ancient Page dye inks, Distress Inks, Pebble Inc. chalks

there's no getting away with it...

i can't believe how some people would think they can just lift something off somebody else's blog, put it up on their public site and think they can get away with it. what's worse in this case is that the photos lifted were used for commercial gain.

sample of some of the many misappropriated layouts posted on their site

yesterday, a good friend Pia posted on our scrapbookers' egroups Pinoyscrapbookers and Scrapbooks Exchange warning us to watermark our photos. this was because they had just discovered that the photos and album layouts her pro photographer husband Jeff took for clients' events coverage were lifted from their blog, shootandscrap.blogspot.com and was displayed without permission, in a Multiply account used for a similar events coverage business: idigitalprod.multiply.com

some comments praising the layouts...plus Jeff's displeased remark

upon confrontation with the issue, all the owner of the account did was block them off multiply and delete their messages. so Jeff phoned them and demanded that the photos be taken down. but it was not before Jeff had confirmed that they claim to their potential clients that the photos and layouts are idigitalprod's work. he found out because he ASKED the person he was talking to before he identified himself...and their answer was a brazen YES: yes, they took the photos and yes, they made the layouts!

the photos were subsquently taken off the idigitalfraud...er...prod multiply site but perhaps a public apology is in order in this case. bitter pill to swallow? yes, but probably the best cure for amnesia on what copyright infringement means.

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

going simple

i've always had an appreciation for the clean and crisp style such as that of my scrapbooking idol Cathy Zielski. locally, i also have quite an admiration for Studio Azul "blue lady" Christine V. and i've always wanted to emulate their streamlined scrapbooking style. even my magazine subscription is with Simple Scrapbooks rather than Creating Keepsakes. yet it's funny that even if i start out intending to do clean and simple, i usually end up with cluttered, colorful, highly embellished layouts. so i eventually traded my Zielski books for the collage ones because i have since embraced that i might always be the cluttered person i really am.

however, since life has been reaaaaally busy these past months and yet scrapping has to go on (of course scrapbooking HAS to go on!), it gives me more reason to go simple and graphic. perhaps it is also an expression of my gut reaction to simplify life. and why not, maybe eventually, i would finally win the battle with clutter.

layouts using Studio Azul's April Kit "Going Postal"

na-TAG!

i often miss answering tags so while i still remember, i'm doing this na. both bjay and pam tagged me so here goes.

1. link back to the person who tagged you.

2. post these rules in your blog.

3. share six (6) unimportant things about yourself.

4. tag six (6) people at the end of your entry.

*** i love kilawin! especially talaba (oysters) and tuna

*** i'm a tv junkie

*** i can't swim but would love to learn sometime

*** i like spending some time alone with myself. it helps me rejuvenate.

*** in college, my sport was track and field

*** i tried to be vegetarian and failed...maybe i'll try again sometime.

now tagging dianne, tin, helga, sym, gaye, and dinah

SA scrap a master challenge

big, big congratulations to Lee and Me-Anne for winning the latest challenge by Studio Azul: the Scrap-A-Master challenge! the challenge was to scraplift this layout by Making Memories Master Iris Uy. their layouts are just as wonderful inspirations as the master's layouts herself.


here is my version of the my idol Iris's layout using SA's February kit.

this is a layout for daughter Gabey who just graduated high school and is moving on to bigger and better things in her life.

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.