round 1 is up...round 2 is on...

i made it to the 27 who will go through to do round 2 of the Scrappin Moms Idol challenge. my entry is in this gallery and the title is BISCUIT- his daily fix. congratulations to everyone who made it too. to my friends who didn't, i'm sure you're half happy since the stress would be easing off. as for me, whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is something i still need to figure out being a reluctant challenger myself. one thing i am sure though is that the round 2 challenge has pushed my buttons. the challenge is to scrap using only one color and its shades...in short, monochromatic! and there's so many restrictions!

this is not an easy task for me being a "color" person. Joanne argues that "...simple lang naman ito e." to which my answer was, "that's the problem, i like complicating things"...heheheh....truly this round agitates me, though i mean that in a good way. i tickles my "problem-solving" fancy. even in philosophy class in college, i tend to like the logic problems. they're like puzzles. i couldn't leave them alone till i've figure it all out even if it takes me ages to do. and this monochromatic challenge is puzzling to me...what reason is there for me to scrap in one color when i have lots to play with and my mind is conditioned to do such? so there's the rub...

i don't know yet how i'm going to solve this but i'm working on it. my mind's been in whirl the past couple of days i couldn't sleep well. i am wide awake till 4 am trying to sleep and up by 6 or 7 am. i'm usually like this when i'm working on a project back when i worked as a graphic designer...maybe it's why this round excites me. it reminds me of solving design problems for demanding clients..hahaha...could it be i'm missing that kind of work?....naaaah...

now, since i have no graphic to insert here since we're not allowed to post our LOs on our blogs until we've been eliminated, i'll just insert this blinkie by Liza:

kinda cool, ain't it... thanks Liza!...

nakaka-senting Lolo LO...

yes, i can't help but feel sentimental as i gathered the ephemera i needed to do this layout (LO). like many things in my life, once they are out of sight, they are also out of mind. so when i stumbled upon this picture of me and my lolo (which also happens to be the title of my LO entry for the Kaya challenge blog), haay...i can't help but sigh at our quaint poses and our fingers touching. i was suddenly besieged by nostalgia which was reinforced by handling these "Bagong Lipunan" bills and coins (even if i disliked the national leader whose signature appears on them)...ahhh, those were the days when the 1-peso and the 5-peso currencies were paper bills and not coins. if i had a 5-peso bill then, it was like having perhaps the equivalent of, ummm, a P50 bill, maybe even more. i remember being able to buy goodies with a 5 centavo coin and if i had several 1 centavo coins, i could still go to the nearby sari-sari store with them and come home with some candy. peso to dollar conversion rates in the 60s were around $1.00 to P2.00... makes me wonder for a moment, how did we get this way?---no more 1 centavo coin, valueless 5 centavos, obsolete 10 centavos...heck, the cost of minting these coins are worth more than their value so now we have foreigners who smuggle the coins out of the country so they can sell it for more---and then i remember the answer, we were plundered.

can you blame me for yearning for those old golden days?...of course...sans the memory of the dictator who also imposed Martial Law for 20 years and called it Bagong Lipunan...ok, i have run on too long and am wading into things beyond scrapbooking...maybe this topic is for my other blog already :-D

i am so challenged!

it seems i do not get to make a scrap page these days unless its an imperative. if not for these challenges, i might not move along! but they can get stressful. and it thought this hobby was for de-stressing! however, once the page is done, it is always a proud moment for me, the sense of achievement is addictive.

and these days, one challenge so demanding is the Scrappin Moms Idol Challenge. it's a weekly elimination scrapping contest which culminates on the day of the Scrapfest. see their gallery here where my entry off to lala land with the thumbman is posted. it is my first time to join such precisely because i hate the stress. but how i can resist these charming moms' invitations especially since one dear member is about to leave the country? so Joanne, i must say, this one is for you. despite the stress, i have to admit, i am enjoying myself, too. i made it past the elimination round which makes me happy yet dreading at the same time...hahaha..talk about mixed emotions. which reminds me that i should be starting on the LO for Round 1 due on the 16th already! i only hope all these hoopla doesn't make me mentally challenged, instead!

rockin'

thanks rockin' girl blogger Nina for sending me this. hey, i'm a Rockin Girl blogger now, too!

now, i understand i should relay this to five more so i'm tagging: Marix, Leirs, CH, Donna, and Cata. Just to say your blogs rock, gurrlss!

my kaya 3 entry and a card

finally! i finished an LO for the Kaya challenge! i was actually contemplating on "cheating" a bit (again, due to busy skeds) by posting an old LO i have not yet posted anywhere but i thought the better of it. if an LO is the scrapper's best reward, then i wouldn't have a prize if i "cheated". since, i was lugging around a few photos intended to be scrapped since the PS EB, and which i brought again to the SE EB i attended at Mitch's place, i thought i'd go ahead and push through with it already. besides, the Pagemaps sketch that Liza threw in for a challenge during the SE EB would work for this particular LO, i thought. i started it last Sunday but it sat on my table till last night. i was feeling unwell, too. i think i caught the bug three of my kids already have. i finally finished it last night despite feeling feverish. see it at the Kaya blog for details. one thing i love about this LO is that i got to use that newly acquired Hero Arts lace stamp which i embossed in red powder!

also, last week, right after the PS EB, i was really hot to use those pearlized pigment powders (Ranger Perfect Pearls and PearlEx) i have lying around. Mia's demo got me using them. here's the card i made with them.

i stamped the image on black Bazzill cardstock and embossed with clear powder. then, i painted the inside space with PearlEx wet with water to make a kind of watery paste just like how one would use water color. i then cut around it with decorative scissors and mounted it on the scrap green checkered paper which i painted with red Making Memories acrylic paint. to finish, i added the polka dot paper strip, added eyelets where i threaded raffia and tied a bow. quick and easy!

i think i shall be hooked on making cards if nothing else but to use up the accumulating scraps from LO projects. as a matter of fact i am swearing that i shall use ONLY scraps for my card projects! moreover, its a great creative outlet that can be completed in a single sitting. it takes less effort than conceptualizing a scrapbook page and i think, in the age of emails and the internet, hardly anyone sends snail-mailed cards anymore. so a handmade card is a wonderful way to tell someone you are thinking of them and that they mean a lot to you.

i was on TV!

last month, someone from Net25 called me. she said she saw my site on the internet and asked if it was ok if she interviewed me for a TV segment on Tribe, a program on their channel. i was quite surprised, a bit afraid but a the same time i also wanted people to know more about this very fulfilling hobby and also quite excited for another bragging right to be on TV...hehehe...

it was finally aired last Sunday, 7pm but i wasn't even home to watch it. i came in from our EB and reached home just when the show had passed. there's a replay though on July 20, Friday at 7pm so if you are reading this and have the time to watch it, please do. many thanks! i hope i won't forget to watch too...haha!

PinoyScrapbookers' July 2007 EB

fun, fun, fun day...lots of learning and yummy eats! this time around, the EB was centered on stamping because of the PS Kaya Blog challenge this month. i did a little lecture on different stamping inks. Tin showed us how to stamp using just bleach (as in Chlorox!) and the effect was sooo cool! Mia also did a demo with stamping using Perfect Pearls (to which I am now addicted to!) and Alby did a demo on using UTEE on chipboard monograms.

it was great to meet new faces, too! hello cookie and vanessa! and christine v. and babette g. showed up for the first time. had lotsa fun with all of you...see the pics below:

see you next month, peeps!

tidbits

oooh yeah...before i forget...Scrapbytes July 2007 issue is up. i have an article there on how to make your own transparencies. be sure to catch it along with the many nice articles by scrapping friends in our community. everytime this online newsletter comes out, there is always a little tidbit in it that serves as an inspiration to me...this month, it is Ria's article where she says "there is no perfect LO... adopt an attitude where you will learn something new...you may not like what you end up with...learn from it and move on." i also like tips no 7 and no 8... just go over there now and read it.

and since i wasn't able to blog for some time, i have not posted yet about that little TV segment on Good Finds of the Lifestyle channel. Last Scrapfest there was a network crew who covered the event. they picked out vendors to interview and guess what...i was one of them! let me tell you i was so darn nervous but i couldn't say no to free advertising and a chance to appear on TV....hahahaha! if i only knew, i would've had my hair done and put some makeup on! Ria of Scrappin Moms put the segment on YouTube so watch below. This segment is so cool because it not only gives you a glimpse of the very lively scrapbooking community growing in the Philippines, it also has a short tutorial on the hobby. What are you waiting for...watch already! (if you are watching this from my blogspot site, you may want to turn off the music on my slideshow at the sidebar by clicking on the little speaker icon)

new stuff, a card and an LO...

for the past couple of weeks, there were too many things going on in my schedule i couldn't even start to scrap. since a boxload of goodies for sale arrived at my home store the last week of June, i was literally aching to do some scrapping. aside from the things i had for sale, of course there were also some personal goodies inside and i was reaaaally looking forward to their arrival. one was my Toteally Cool Tote 2 and the other thing was my new rubberstamps! the tote is soooo cool indeed because it holds in all of the stuff i usually reach out for when doing a project and because it swivels (on a detachable magnetic lazy susan) it practically invites me to put back in whatever i take out of it. a lot less clutter on my space while working. it has so many pockets, garter bands, even a drawer (improved version than in the first edition of this bag) that i feel so well organized now. i do not misplace things anymore...really! and it holds a lot. if i move things around some more, i think the kitchen sink will fit in.

as for the stamps, i dare not put a picture here for fear hubby might stumble upon it so just wait for the occasional project where i might use it. however, despite all these incentives to start some project and no matter how i tried, i was drained by the end of the day, there were no creative juices left. but yeah, i still did manage a small card project for that week just to try a stamp. here it is:

for this card, i got to use one of the new stamps (the girl on the piano), my old music paper stamp, Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl A2 embossing folder and this cool tool called, Making Memories Stamping Die Set. i think this tool has been around a while because i hardly see it advertised anymore. but i loooove the unique look it lends to my project! what i used here is just a sheet of very thin brass i got from the hardware. one would need a hammer (the one already in a scrappers' bag used for setting eyelets) or the Making Memories Instant Setter to use it properly. i think i shall be making some more projects with this one.

with our highschool batch reunion finally done last weekend (was so much fun seeing old friends!), a big load off my mind also passed and first thing i did before even answering emails was to scrap! since i had some paper waiting for me intended for a challenge, that was the first one i tackled. here's the finished product:

this is one of the few times i finished an LO in a single night, from start of concept to finish. either i am improving or the papers and embellies were just too good that the LO fell so easily in place.

materials used:
Scenic Route papers, stickers and diecuts, 7gypsies photo turns, Sizzix die cut letters, metal embellishments, Making Memories acrylic paints and Creative Imaginations foam stamps, Bazzill cardstock, Ranger Distress inkpads


hopefully, i can complete one more before this week is done.

tagged!

Iris tagged me so...here are 7 random facts about me:

1. many people won't believe this, not even those who know me well, but I am actually shy. i'd rather stay home than party although i would go if invited.

2. i enjoy time alone. sitting meditation is something i'd like to be able to do regularly but my current situation usually prevents it.

3. hikain ako. but people never suspect it because i'm so malikot and being asthmatic never stops me from being as active as i want to be...for as long as my inhalers are with me.

4. my little shih tzu, Tashi loves me to pieces and i love him back. he constantly follows me everywhere in the house.

5. when i was young, red was my favorite color. then it became orange. then yellow. now, it's green. cuttlebug green! and i love green tea.

6. sunflowers are my favorite flowers. they are big, loud, and cheerful. And they always look at the sunny, bright side.

7. i also like butterflies. some say they symbolize death. to me, they are a symbol of transformation and breaking free from the mold. i like them so much i got one tattooed on me.

now, i have to tag 7 other friends who must also say 7 random facts about themselves. i am tagging Lee, Christine, Joanne, Hanna, Ella, Cabbie, and Tin. happy blogging ladies! this is actually cool, i think, coz we get to know each other a bit more :-D

hooray for freebies!

the past two days were ticklishly happy for me. last thursday, my prize (for just being at the top 3) arrived via Air21 from Nette of My Little Attic. deliciously juicy-colored Fancy Pants papers, thickers and stuff here....oooohhh yeah....

then yesterday, Friday, i renewed my magazine subscription of Simple Scrapbooks. Cherry of Emerald Headway sent me these goodies: back issues of mags i like! and these issues are not that old, too. they're April 2007 issues. i requested digital camera mags aside from scrapbooking ones and my favorite yoga read.

subscribing for mags in the Philippines is a lot more expensive than getting a subscription in the US and having it sent here but i think the instant gratification of getting them quick and counting the cost of these freebies make up for that. will be renewing my Creating Keepsakes subscription soon....yey, yey, yey...more mags my way.

father's day LO

i wanted to do a card project last Saturday for hubby but work kept me at the computer. i was itching to put use the oh, so lovely new Prima paper kits that came in at my store, Simply Scrappy, couple of weeks back. by the end of the day, i was a bit freer so i thought i'd check out my pics on Adobe Elements for a possible weekend LO as well. I saw this picture of Erwin and Raj and thought I'd tweak it a bit on Photoshop. it seemed to call out for a drama quote so i searched for one and found it. by the time I was done, the picture looked like this and was practically calling out to be scrapped already so i printed it out on my trusty Epson. hmm, maybe an father's day LO was just as good as a card. i didn't quite finish on saturday evening due to some glittering snags i hit. i finally ditched glitter and did embossing, again, ala-Iris style, and finished on Sunday. Still in time for father's day.

click to enlarge

i remember asking Iris a few months back how she did her favorite script stamping that seemed to go on to the edge of the page. she told me how and what stamp it was (Hero Arts Old French Manuscript) so i set about to searching for it and found it. i was finally able to test drive it here. i often scrutinize idol Iris's techniques on her LOs and saw she does embossing on the patterned paper. lovely technique! this is what i did here. here is the embossing detail up close.

click to enlarge

deconstruction:
Prima paper kit (Aurora Collection), Prima Journalist chipboard stickers (mermaid and butterflies) 7gypsies photo turns, Sizzix die cut letters (Cherish and Boxed Brush), rickrack, Fastenater staples, stamping and heat embossing techniques using Ranger gold embossing powder and clear embossing inkpad, Simply Scrappy Deckler for paper tearing.

Items available at Simply Scrappy ScrapArts store used in this project are:
Prima paper kit (Aurora Collection), Fastenated stapler and staples, Ranger gold embossing powder and clear embossing inkpad, Ranger Distress inkpad (Frayed Burlap), Simply Scrappy Deckler and Stitching Guide.

what would IRIS do?

it seems Nita and i have been friends way too long (29 years by now) that we are often on the same wavelength. last week, bespren Nita was on self-pity mode after viewing Iris Uy's online album at webshots. See her funny thoughts here at her blog at how Iris scared off her scrapping muse. At the same time, I was at home also trying to put together an LO. I was looking at the picture I wanted to scrap and thought to myself "what would Iris do?" so with that in mind, and a prayer directed at my scrapping goddess Iris, i started picking out papers and cutting and pasting paper and of course, lace! Here's the result:

click to enlarge

it may be a long ways from something my idol would accomplish but i'm pretty happy i captured the romantic feel i so love about her work. Thanks idol Iris for the inspiration.

And Nita, we have something even better to drool over! Iris now has a blog... oooo, yeah! I'm putting my bib on now.

deconstruction:
K&Co paper as base. Bazzill cardstock (java) to matt the photo. Photoshop CS2 to edit the photo, EK Corner Adorner (slot wrought iron) for corner trim. Making Memories Kraft for the dotted paper. Bazill Blooms with letter brad from AAS, K&Co Words and Sayings chipboard, lace, small safety pin with starfish charm, a small sigay shell from the beach and a heart button also from AAS, transparency printed on the computer for the quotation and attached with Making Memories mini brads in metallic, metal tag frame, Prima flowers and buttons.

Items available at Simply Scrappy ScrapArts store used in this project are:
Bazzill cardstocks, Prima flowers (green), Bazzill Blooms (vanilla), MM Metallic brads, EK Corner Adorner.

yeehaa...

i made it as one of top 3 winners of My Little Attic's Fancy Pants Challenge called the Colors of Summer. it's always sweet to get scrapbooking goodies as a reward for something i would love to do anyway...yey! this is the LO that made it:

Ms Leah Fung commented this about it:

"There are so many great elements to this page - lots of fun ideas that other scrapbookers can use too. First off, I love the composition - I like how everything is at an angle which immediately adds vivacity to the layout. I like how the large strip of patterned paper extends off both sides of the smaller patterned paper used in the background. There are lots of fun embellishments on her layout too but the photo is clearly the focal point of the page. I also like how she tucked part of the flower behind the photo and added the black flourishes above and below the journaling and in the lower corner of the page. The title and sentiment of this layout is great too! Side note: I also loved her Sand Sational page!!"

Even if it was not the grand prize LO, I'm so thrilled! Nice cap to my day!

Congratulations to the grand prize winner Carrie and Diane who also made top three. You deserve it ladies!

miss-hit!

if you've been to the Pinoyscrapbookers' Kaya blog, you've probably seen this one. this is my response to the challenge issued: Black, White and a Pint of Color. i chose brown as my color so i can include some metal embellishments in the LO.

i'm pretty happy with how this turned out because despite some misses, i just happen to hit a perfect solution for it. for example, that picture of me was taken by daughter Gabey last time we were out at the mall. when she showed it to me, i told her it wasn't good because it looked like i was posing. when she saw that it eventually ended up here on this LO, she laughed at me and told me with a victorious grin "kala ko ba panget?" well, it just so happened it was perfect for the effect is wanted--like i was looking up at the butterfly.

second "miss" was on this very same picture: my little boy's head was right in front of me and would be clearly visible if i cut the pic into an oval. good thing that spot was right on for some Prima flowers!

then, i happily stamped some musical notes on to white cardstock...perfect, i thought. i then proceeded to tearing the side them distressing them with some gray chalk. as i was positioning it on the paper, i realized, i should have torn the other side! oh heck! then it just simply has to go upside down because i'm too lazy to repeat it already.

In my excitement, I forgot to put down credits on the LO for the quotation. It is by Jim Rohn and I got it from the 54 Challenges book by Elsie Flannigan.

Technique and process how this was done posted here as part of the entry to the PS blog.