1 patterned paper = 1 layout

For this week at Made With Love, I challenged myself to use only 1 piece of patterned paper to make a layout. So I used only this!  No store-bought embellishments (except for the tags, twines and buttons which are already in my stash).  Talk about cheap page =) 

This layout, showing my kids and their cousins, is about TEAMWORK. Cousin teamwork.  I grew up loving my cousins, enjoying their company, always looking forward to holidays and reunions so we could all get-together and try to outdo each other's laughs (I think I win that all the time. I laugh the loudest, fyi!). So I want my kids to grow up loving their cousins too. 

Some close-ups... 

... this sizzix envelope die is my all-time favorite :) 

... simple tricks: washi tape, this chevron stamp, and white paint on white paper! 

Supplies used: 

papers: Jillibean Soup 

cardstocks: American Crafts

stamps: Fancy Pants and Paper Smooches

ink: Ranger Archival 

washi tape: MT

twine: Maya Road

paint: Claudine Hellmuth

others: sharpie pen, buttons, manila tags, sequins

Sizzix dies used: 

Happy arrival Chantal Reese!

Our congratulations to Dexter and Ingrid Duremdes for finally, they now have a little princess. Chantal Reese is such a wonderful blessing for the family, coming fourth after her three older brothers Keith, Josh and Bradd. After seeing her and how her brothers adore her, I can't help but imagine and somehow wish for such a blessing to come to us too! Who knows? =)

Made this diaper cake using Sizzix of course :)

everyday is...

Mothers Day! 

Now that's a good excuse for me not having to finish these altered frames in time for mothers day. Another follow up excuse is because my son got sick and I got sick. And life got in the way. It would have been perfect if I made it earlier, and posted it on time. But I didn't. That got me a little frustrated.

But I know our moms don't care that much. They love us no matter what. They are patient of our shortcomings. They are happy with anything we give. Anytime. And even if we don't and we can't.  They are the President of our Fans Club. They are the bestest of our friends. 

With that, our moms deserve a mothers day treatment. Everyday. 

So it doesn't matter if these frames are late. Today is mothers day! Happy Mothers Day Mamang and Mommy. We love you both so much :) 

Supplies: 
frames: TPC "Beyond the Page" 

paper: Websters Pages, Prima

cardstock: American Crafts

butterflies: Prima

flowers: Sizzix, Prima

mediums: Ranger Crackle Paint, TA Glimmer Glaze

others: wash tapes, dew drops, buttons, trims, laces

the lost and found bag

Miguel.

He never forgets that day when I accidentally  brought his water bottle to work. And every now and then he reminds me not to do that again. Having his water bottle with him to school meant so much to him. 

Can you imagine how he felt when he lost his bag?  He left it in the bus. Okay, I'm the Mom here I should be the one looking after my 4 year old guy and his bag. But it happened. I'm so used to the fact that he  takes charge of his precious little blue school bag every day when we go to school...

He cried and cried like it was the only thing in the world for him. It was painful to look at. As parent it is painful to see your child in so much pain, coming to terms with a loss.  I remember my first experience of losing something. A wallet. It was awful. So I was in panic seeing him shout "My bag! Mommy my bag!" while seeing the bus drive away. I literally ran after the bus for a few seconds, not for the bag because it was just a bag but because of my son feeling so bad about it. Until I realized, this could be a blessing in disguise. 

So I tried to keep him calm. We sat down. I wiped his tears, I made a phone call, and we talked...

Me: Baby, we lost your bag and Mommy is sad. We can pray to Papa Jesus. He will help us, Okay? 

Miguel: Okay. *still crying* 

Me: We will wait for the bus and ask Uncle driver if he found it. If not, Daddy will buy a new bag for you.

Miguel: But I want my blue bag. It has Miguel on it. 

Me: We will make a new name tag for your new bag. A nice name tag with lots of stickers. 

Miguel: *silent* 

Me: If we can't find it, it means another kid will find it (thinking maybe lost and unclaimed stuffs go  to Salvation Army or something)  and maybe that kid has got no bag so he will be happy to find your bag. Is that okay with you?

Miguel: *silent and no more tears*

Me: So let's wait...

Miguel: Let's wait for the bus TIB1184 and it has a D. 

The bus came.... with plate no. TIB1184D and we found the bag! We said thank you to the driver and went back to his school continuing our conversation...

Miguel: I found my bag! Uncle gave me my bag! *so very happy*

Mommy: So we can thank Papa Jesus now for helping us find your bag, for the honest person who handed the bag to the driver, and the kind and helpful driver who taught us what to do.

Miguel: *making sign of the cross* Papa Jesus, thank you for helping me find my bag!

I love that moment at the bus stop. Miguel learned the values of trusting God, of acceptance, of being kind to the needy, of praying for help and praying for thanksgiving. And as a bonus, he experienced the joy of finding something that was still meant to be his. 

And I also learned something. It spoke to me about letting go, of detaching from the things of this world... I haven't been scrapping much lately because I realized it has become my "idol" I was becoming too attached to it that I don't have time for the simple but important things anymore... It made me think of letting go of some ambitions which I believe won't matter anymore someday when I'm old and gray... when I die. The things that will matter most is not the fame, or how many  nice papers or stamps and dies I have, or how many DT stints I had... the thing that will matter the most is whether I am happy... happy not because I have all the things I want and need but because I know how to accept it when I don't have everything....and most importantly, if the people around me are happy with me. 

So I am grateful for that precious little blue school bag... lost or found. 

new class!

I want to say THANK YOU to all of my scrapper friends, old and new, for signing up to Noteworthy. Last month's classes were all full! I hope my new class will be received the same way :) Can't wait to see who's gonna be there!

Print out those adorable instagram photos and make each story behind known to all by making a 6x6 book using products from Maya Road, 7 Gypsies, Simple Stories and many other cool goodies plus learn fun and cool techniques of making recycled embellishments that include making washi out of an ordinary masking tape! There will be lots and lots of stamping too! 

Click here for all the other cool workshops offered at Made With Love this May. 

He is 4!

And he knows what he wants!

... Timmy Time!

... green cupcakes! 

... goodie bags made by Mommy, Daddy and gues who? Clue: he wrote his name on each of the goodie bag! =)

... fun with classmates!

... with his beloved Teacher Sam. He loves her I am already worried for moving-up day goodbyes :(

... Mommy, Daddy and balloons! Kuya was not there because he's in school too. We wish you were here Kuya.

... Make a wish!  Say a prayer!

Little things. BIG BIG SMILES! :) I love you Bebelablab. Mommy is so busy for your birthday part 2 tomorrow. A well deserved party with your playmates! 

Easter recap...

Easter is the most important part of my Christian Life. How can I ever not post about it? Promptly? Sigh. Just too many things in my plate right now. But each day I thank the Lord for the grace to do all things through Him who strenghtens me :) With Him at my side I can ganbatte!

So though I'm like 2 weeks late, I shall share with you my Easter 2012 memories...

... I was assigned by our responsible to make the easter egg baskets for the kids of the whole community who like us adults, would stay awake for the Easter Vigil from almost midnight up until the vigil is finished. By finished it means about 6 am. My Miguel slept halfway through the event. We'll see next year how it goes :)

... We dress our best! Taking this photo and going to the very special and grand celebration without Kuya is a sign that I have accepted and kissed one of my crosses. Now, I don't feel that pain anymore if Kuya can't be with us in occasions such as this. It is part of His plan. I love Him. I believe He loves me. I trust and obey Him. But God is full of surprises. Who knows what  next year would be like? *looking up to heaven*

... our community was so excited that we were the first to arrive!

... One of my fave photos. Two little boys. Future cantors of the community.

... Like father like son. Thanks to Jimmy Badilla and Flor Badilla of Jimflors for the handpainted barongs!

... There were many times during the celebration when I got teary-eyed. This is one of them. Cecilia, mother of seven (three of them belong to our community) answering her son's question: "Why is this night so different?" It was so honest, sincere, pure and so inspiring.

... we all look forward to this :) 

... and this! :) 

... and most especially this? ^ LOL! Easter recap to be continued soon! Thanks for staying with me up til here. Christ is risen! He is truly risen! =)

insta-stories

Almost screwed up something at work today. Thank God for my Angel who seemed to have whispered to me to double check something so it didn't happen. But that still stressed me out! Thank God again coz when I got home a mail was waiting for me: limited edition MT  tapes and a very cute tape dispenser! Best of all, I got the cutest love letter from one of my bestest friends, Min! :)) Thanks so much for everything my dear friend! Love love love it to bits! :)



Hoping to share more insta-stories with you!

i love this weekend

Enjoying the two weekends in a row that we are neither going to the mall, nor going somewhere far and crowded. Just spending quiet (hmmnn not really, it's mostly noisy in fact because where can you find a home with a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old that is so quiet?) simple, relaxed time at home. I really really really love these kinds of weekends. Just that I am too forgetful *grin* 

Here are the things I love about this weekend...

• the reality that my mother is in the hospital now but she is getting better, and I worry not about anything. God is in charge. 
• going home from work with hubs
• movies I watched with hubs
• these brownies that I baked and I am proud of because it is so yummy! cross my heart! =) 
• Palm Sunday 
• eating together at the dining table with my son leading the prayer. precious.
• super duper quality time with the boys
• photos that hubby took which I can't wait to play with
• playtime at the park
• and the challenge of finishing the last 10 pages of this album --- my class at Made With Love this April!  

{Noteworthy}

In this class, you will try your hands on masking, misting, embossing, punching, distressing, lots and lots of stamping and go home with 20 pages of 8x8 layouts! Work with a complete freshly released Teresa Collins paper and accessories pack, a Maya Road 8x8 ring binder with page protectors, and a lot lot more of yummy scrapping goodies selected just for your precious Everyday Moments album!   *alphas and washi tapes not included.

Here are some sneaks of what's inside... love the colors, the stamps (I even got emotional a number of times while scrapping. I put my whole heart into it especially the the journaling and the thoughts... made me realize how much I value my family, and that time with them is precious... more precious than any tangible thing in this world). I love this class so much! I hope you will too... 

... gotta go and enjoy the remaining 2 hours of this weekend... love and happiness be to your home as well!   :) 

happy despite all odds + zutter time!

Feeling a bit sick right now. I guess having 3 small jobs (a regular part time job + teaching job + my little online store ...  all of which are related to scrapbooking) not counting mommyhood and wifeyhood, no matter how much you love these roles will really give you colds at times. I'm not complaining. I love what I do now. I just hope I will improve on my time management skills. And would facebook a lot less. God help me.

Anyway, here's a project I made recently using my favorite tool, bind-it-all. This is made for my son's teacher for her wedding day....

I had been holding on to these spare zutter rings for a while thinking I'd use them one day and that day has come LOL.... See, I have 2 pieces of rings good for 4 holes, and 1 piece of ring for 5. What to do? Punch holes following these numbers! Easy arithmetic! Now I do not need to run to my local scrapbooking store  to get new rings, and I have used my spare rings. What a great feeling =)

Next, I covered my chipboard pages with cream cardstocks, sanded the edges and did the bind-it-all magic!

Here are some close-ups a collage of what's inside... 

... used Crate Paper's Portrait collection, my punches, and have added some crackle paint for texture.

...love that silhouette and the glossy accented letter stickers.

... Teacher Lala gave me very limited photos but I like how my pages turned out. Simple and a lot of space for guests to write down their wishes for the couple.

Supplies: 

tools: Zutter Bind-It-All

papers: Crate Paper, American Crafts

chipboard accents: Crate Paper

trims & laces: Crate Paper

glimmer mist: Tattered Angels

glossy accents: Ranger

others: chipboard, twine, brads, pearls, bakers twine, doily

That's about it! Thanks for looking :)