Creatively Impaired

Gracie's first birthday

2009-10-23T23:39:00.016+08:00

Hi! I'm Gracie! Deareast princess of my Dade and Mame. I celebrated my first birthday here in Singapore. We were supposed to have a Mcdo party with my twin sister Haelle and Ate Minmin last Sept26 at Market Market but because of Ondoy, Mame had to cancel it. Then I came to Singapore for the first time on Sept 27. Because of family emergency, my Lolo and Lola had to go back home in the Philippines so I am alone with Mame everyday for almost 2 weeks. She was so busy with me that she couldn't plan my birthday but with the great help of my fairy godtitas: Tita Abby, Tita Marix and Tita Nelvie, they were able to pull it through. Also Lola and Lolo came back two days before the party so my Mame was able to concentrate on my birthday. You may be asking about my Dade Lew, of course he helped! He made sure I don't mess up the decorations/preparations. And he paid for all the expenses, Thanks Dade!

See my invitations below, all are unique. Tita Nelvie, Tita Marix, Tita Abby, Tita Nelvie and my Mame worked thru the night and day one weekend to finish all of them. They were sent only 5days before the party but I am so thankful that almost everybody came.

Tita Vanj helped book the function room at Melville Condo. Some of my Titas/Titos: Tita Rain, Tita Weng, Tita Les, Tita Bache, Tito Mau, Tita Anne, Tito Sep, Tita Gladys and Tito Jeff together with my godtitas helped in the preparations and decorated the place. Below are some pix...

There were lots of games in my birthday. There was a candy shower pinata bought by my Tita Rowee with pictures of Tinkerbell and friends. My mame filled it with lots of candy it was half filled! Since my Tito Rommel is the tallest, he held the pinata way up high so everyone can be showered with the candies. My new friends were so thrilled and got all the candies!

There was also a pabitin with lots of treats. It was more exciting! It took only a few minutes before it was finished up.

<

Tito Indy greatly helped in entertaining my Titos/Titas and new friends.

My Tita Abby made this beautiful chocolate cake for me.. Yummy!

Here are the pictures of the guests. I really hope they enjoyed the food and the party.

My mame made this beautiful guestbook...

I also enjoyed giving away the tokens...

Here are my closeups...

My mame printed my picture in magnets and gave it as a thank you token..

Here is when I opened my gifts...

I want to thank everyone who came and my titos/titas/lolo and lola who helped. It was really a fun day.

just a quick share

2009-04-20T01:28:00.005+08:00

Pre, Abby, Marix and I scrapped this weekend. I'm happy to be scrapping with friends again, although I dd the least among us since I was not in a scrappy mood. And I didn't get to take pix of what I did because I was sleeping the whole day today hehe. I promise to post them soon, for the meantime I just want to share some new pics of my twin nieces. Aren't they adorable?

Happy bday Bache!

2009-04-10T22:11:00.004+08:00

Made this for my good friend Bache.

All about cute#1

2009-04-10T16:39:00.006+08:00

Our dear friend Beth aka Cute#1 is leaving soon and we threw a surprise despedida party for her alongside our Scrappersatsg anniversary celebration.

The party was all about Beth. Her housemates helped with the food. Abby made these yummy treats.

Sookie prepared all these fun games such as 'Pin the prima on cute#1', 'Pass the packages and do a treat/dare' and scrapbook charade. We had a photo shoot with Beth and scrapped it. Here are what I made for her.

I also made this ATC for her.

This happy gal is so talented that we will surely miss the decorations/invitations/giveaways she makes. Bye Beth, stay happy!

Agatha's 2nd bday party

2009-03-31T22:10:00.004+08:00

Here is another gift for a cute kid. The party was held at Jollibbee in the Philippines.

Gelai's 7th bday

2009-03-25T22:31:00.000+08:00

Gelai's 7th bday was a blast. Although it has been raining the whole afternoon, many people still came. Everything from the decorations, cakes, food and games were all perfect. Abby baked these yummy goodies, 7 butterfly cakes and 4 tier muffins. They tasted good!

Jessica's Christening

2009-03-24T21:43:00.010+08:00

We attended Jessica's Christening last Saturday at St Theresa's church. I gave her a cute bathing suit and matching towels and this guestbook.

Seeing double

2009-03-24T21:04:00.004+08:00

Do these 2 babies look alike? Yes, they do! That's because they are twins! They are my new nieces, 6 months old. Their names, Mari Haelle and Gracie Mari, are based on the prayer 'Hail Mary, full of Grace'. I haven't seen them yet but oddly I seem to miss them.

Mama left

2009-03-17T21:59:00.011+08:00

My mom went home to the Philippines last Saturday after taking care of us for 3 months. She still doesn't want to go but she truly misses her precious granddaughter Gracie Mari. Who wouldn't miss this cutie?

She celebrated her 60th birthday here. We surprised her with a birthday cake made by Abby. I made this for her and she really liked it.

Also, here is an acrylic for Aying's kids.

2009-03-17T01:35:00.000+08:00

Just a quick share of a layout I did for an officemate. I know I had been AWOL for a while, did some projects but were not able to take some pix.

Finally settled in

2009-02-21T14:14:00.013+08:00

It seems everyone is flocking to Sengkang area. Even sister Marix is also making the big move this coming weekend. Yeheey! She will be closer to us, Pre and Abby, which means more time to scrap on weekends.

As for us, after 2 weeks of gruesome packing and unpacking, cleaning and more cleaning, throwing away and acquiring new furnitures, deciding where to put things and having everything in place, we are finally settled in the new house. The internet connection and phones were only activated today but we still don't have cable tv(i miss my Disney channel and TFC hehe)

My scraproom became a scrapcorner in the living room with most of my things tucked in other cabinets inside our bedroom so it won't look so cluttered. Here are some pix of the place...

Ethan's digital book

2009-02-01T00:40:00.007+08:00

I finally made these for my inaanak Ethan, his 1st bday celeb. Btw, he's 3 1/2 yrs old now haha.

BFN

2009-01-29T22:54:00.003+08:00

These past 4 months have been a roller coaster ride for us. Starting from the diagnosis of my uterus/ovarian problems, followed by surgery. Then Dr told us that my tubes are no longer usable so we decided to go for IVF. Then we found out that IVF involves lots of self injection so there goes my fear of needles. Almost every other day I had to go for consultation, tests, ultrasound or injections. I was pumping too much meds into my system which causes so many side effects. With Lew's sperm test, we were classified as an ICSI case. After 2 weeks of stimulation, we were able to collect only 4 eggs. At least we had 4! From those 4, only 2 were fertilized. At least we had 2! Then we waited for them to implant. It was the longest 2weeks of my life. And today, our IVF journey ends, with a BFN = Big Fat NEGATIVE. I cried a lot, and a lot, and a lot more.

We were really hoping and praying for this to work. But I guess God has other plans for us.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

My best friend, Aying, sent me these flowers to cheer me up. I was so surprised when they came, thanks beh, labyu!

And a big Thank you, for my family and friends, for your SMS, prayers and support. We have not yet decided if we will go thru another cycle, but right now, I still need to wallow.

3 days to go

2009-01-26T13:48:00.004+08:00

It's holiday here in Singapore, till tomorrow, for the Lunar New Year celebrations. Malls and supermarkets are all closed. Mama, Pre, Abby and Tales went on a whole day cruise. As for me and Lew, it's our do-nothing-day.

We are very excited as the days are getting near for our blood pregnancy test. Thursday is the big day! I wanted to buy a pregnancy test kit so I could check ahead but the nurse advised us not to. She said it will definitely test as positive since the meds I've been pumping to my system contains dosages of HCG. Some friends are asking me if I'm pregnant already, I told them I don't know. How do you feel pregnant anyway? I've read so many books but I don't feel anything mentioned on the books that I read. But that doesn't let me down. Even the mad rash that has developed on my face maybe caused by the hormones I have been taking. It is very veeerrrryyy itchy. I hope it's nothing serious though.

I finally finished the HOPE entry for Scrappersatsg. Here it is..

For all of you, may you have a more productive day than mine.

I forgot to post these

2009-01-18T14:51:00.004+08:00

Some more gifts for friends and inaanak.

About addictions and awards

2009-01-16T20:52:00.007+08:00

Thanks to Marix for below awards:

Mention 5 addictions and pass on the award to 5 other fab blogs!

1. Disney Channel
2. Cooking and cookbooks and cooking channels
3. Japanese food
4. Hoarding scrapbook suplies
5. Photoshop Elements 7

my past addictions were
1. coffee- not anymore as it contributes to my insomnia
2. sylvanian families houses- i have collected 5 houses fully furnished, all now in the store room
3. minihouses figurines- now at my mom's house in the philippines
4. dog stuffed toys and figurines
5. photography

And now I pass on the awards to:
Sookie
Pre
Ate Rowee
Jen
Abby

Day 4

2009-01-16T02:05:00.004+08:00

It's been 4days since the embryo transfer. I was on bed rest for most of these days but couldn't fight the urge to work yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I am not a workaholic, I just know that work has already piled up and my boss needs a lot of help. So I did work, in the comfort of our living room but NO PAY.

Anyway, I had another Pregnyl jab this morning. Lew is getting used to this. The Pregnyl is more complicated because you have to mix 2 separate vials of liquid and powder meds. Two set of needles. Previously, I faint at the mere sight of syringe ( I did twice before in a clinic), but I'm used to it now. And the bloatedness makes me very uncomfortable. Well, I can handle anything for my babies. Naks!

I want to share to you their first picture...

not sure if i already posted this

2009-01-12T03:33:00.000+08:00

IVF/ICSI

2009-01-10T21:27:00.000+08:00

What Is IVF?

In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) involves putting the eggs and sperms together. By natural selection, the egg will usually allow only one sperm to enter and this usually leads to the fertilisation process in the laboratory. After fertilisation, the embryos are allowed to grow for a short period of time before being placed into the uterus. A successful pregnancy can be confirmed about 2 weeks later.

What Is ICSI?

Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) involves injecting a single sperm into each egg to allow fertilisation to occur in the laboratory.

- Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation and Monitoring
Every morning, Lew has been injecting me with Gonadotrophin just below my belly button for a week to stimulate the growth of the follicles in the ovaries. After 7days, an ultrasound scan is performed to determine the number and size of the growing follicles. They only found 6 small follicles so they asked me to continue with Gonadotrophin for 2 more days. After another ultrasound, no additional follicles but existing ones grew a bit. After another day of Gonadotrophin, two new grew and the 6ones reached the desired size. Finally the doctor said that we're ready so an injection of HCG is given and gonadotrophin was discontinued. The HCG is required for the final maturation of eggs before the egg collection. The egg collection is scheduled about 36 hours after the HCG injection.

- Egg Collection (Oocyte Pick Up)
This morning, I went for egg collection. The eggs are collected through a special needle attached to an ultrasound probe. I was under sedative during the procedure. Dr Loh was able to extract 3 eggs. During recovery, I was hooked to a blood pressure monitor and every 15 minutes, the nurse checks on me. We went home after a while, with some pain at my lower abdomen.

- ICSI
ICSI is performed on the day of oocyte pick-up. During the procedure, a single sperm will be injected into each egg via a microneedle. So from now til tomorrow, we are praying that fertilisation will occur so we will have embryo transfer on Monday.

- Embryo Transfer
Jan12: We came back at KKIVF for the embryo transfer today. Dr Loh informed us that only 2 eggs have developed into embryos from the 4eggs that were retrieved last Saturday. The procedure was quite fast, with Lew watching. We got to see the embryos n the screen before it was transfered. We even had a picture, one is already divided into 4 and the other one was faster as you cannot count the divisions anymore. Both were re-placed back to my uterus guided by ultrasound. The nurse was kind and she let us stay for a while. I was so afraid to walk or move around. Then Lew purchased some more medicines and injections(again!). I got to take more injections so the embryos will have a higher chance of implanting. They also gave us the form for the insurance plan that we were required to take. They said it is mandatory to get insurance for each embryo transfer since some babies born under IVF had complications. If ever the pregnancy didn't go through, your money is already lost. And the more embryo transfered, the higher the insurance. We went home, and Lew instructed me to just stay in bed for at least 6hours so I obliged.

- Next stop, pregnancy test.. on January 29!

***Pictures and some text were taken from KK Hospital website.

Acrylic galore

2008-12-17T21:56:00.000+08:00

I was searching for a new LO medium for gifts this Christmas. I found an acrylic sheet(size 9x12in) in Art Friend which costs only $2.30. At first, I only bought 4, just in case, I thought. Then Lew and I came back after a week and bought all their diamond sheet stock bwahahaha, 30pcs in all. I threw in 5 more tinted ones, just to experiment later. Lew was shocked and complained when I handed him the bag because it was sooooo heavy. In addition to that, I bought 2 pregnancy books at a book sale at Bras Basah complex.

These are what I have done so far..

PSE7

2008-12-04T20:25:00.000+08:00

Finally, Lew has installed my new Photoshop Elements 7 software. I have jumped from version5 to version7. Haven't played with it yet. Don't know what are the new features but I'm sure they are all good.

Christmas in November

2008-12-02T21:35:00.000+08:00

Christmas party with our group Scrappersatsg was a blast once again courtesy of our very good friends Marix, Soox and Abby. Thank you guys!!! We really had fun!

Thanks to Maps for always volunteering to host the venue for our scrapmeets.

Thanks for the people who sponsored the game prizes. I think I got more hehe.

Thanks to Jane, Soox, Lily and CJ for early Christmas gifts.

Thanks to CJ, I got hers in the gift grabbing and I think she also took mine.

Thanks to Marix and Abby for the cute aprons.

Thanks to my Monita Abby. I knew it was her when my LOs were posted because she was on leave that day then suddenly 3 LOs appeared at the site by end of the day. I also noticed her style. Here are her wonderful creations for me.

In return, I did an LO for her which I will post later.

Thanks to my baby Jen for the gift and LO she gave me. She never guessed that I was her Monita :) Here are my creations for her.

In return she gave me this LO (I gave her Rain's pix) and promised one more for me and Lew. I really admire her style.

I brought these yummy biko to distribute to my scrapmates. I was low on budget so I asked my Mama to make biko(made from glutinuos rice, coconut milk and brown sugar). Nanay(Lew's mom) helped in packing and of course I made the tags, flowers are from Daiso.

Our group picture.. (some members couldn't come :()
Here's one without Andros..

Here's one without Marix..

Look how cute our aprons are! They were given by Marix and Abby as tokens. Mama (my Mom) helped in sewing it together. It was done in our house so I was able to embellish it a bit before everyone else hehe. Here is mine.

Me(with Marix presenting the prize) bagging the prize for most number of guessed 'who's mommy and baby' game. I was able to match 9 pairs!

Me, Andros and Bheng(with Abby presenting) winning the prize for being first to complete the scrapping version of '12 days of Christmas'. You have to grab scrap items such as '12 ribbons, 11 paper trimmings and so on'. Actually we were not the first but somehow Beth's group lost an eyelet. Then I saw Bheng and Andros already singing so I joined in and we won!

Me, Madeth and Maps (with Bheng and Marix presenting) winning the prize for the scrapbooking charade game. We had so much fun in this game. I didn't know how to act out/describe stickles and glossy accents haha!

Did you notice that I won in most of the games? Bwahahahaha I was really lucky that day! Here are the yummy gifts from friends/game prizes/from gift grabbing I received, already opened(I couldn't wait till Christmas day).

Christmas is really the most wonderful time of the year. Full of love, joy and sharing.

just some quick sharing...

2008-11-16T11:27:00.000+08:00

Some LOs I did while in vacation... 2 days to go before I get down to work.. hayyyyy!

and here is my recipe for a witch brew for Create challenge by our good friend Soox.
1. eye of newt --- 2 red buttons
2. toe of frog --- 2 raw blue swirl chipboard
3. lizard's leg --- 8 blue brads
4. scale of a dragon --- 1 'ALL BOY' stamped sentiment
5. root of hemlock --- stitching near edge of the belt

Update: I am the Witch that won the prize for Create's challenge. Yeeehhheeyy!!!

Where does the time go?

2008-11-13T12:51:00.000+08:00

I have been taking it easy these past few weeks, Doctor's orders and more strictly Lew's orders. By the time I had my energy going, I was again in pain, still have it now. When will it end? I will be going to the office next week, and I'm hell sure that work has piled up! But I am not well rested yet! Time goes by so fast, I thought I will be able to keep up with my scrapping, orgranizing and all the gazillion things I have to do. Even thinking about it makes me stressful! Haha!

I scrapped a bit. I finally used my zutter. During my organizing, I found a boxful of receipts. I painstakingly sorted all of it, some went into the shedder and the rest were neatly compiled. Then I decided to make a minibook for next year's bills and receipts so I won't end up having the same mess again. This is what I came up with, the design is basicaly the same for every month and I still don't have a decent cover.

Then last Saturday, I begged Lew to let me go out and at last, he agreed. We bought this cute ukelele for Sandi for her 3rd bday. We got this for her because everytime she is at our home, she would admire Lew playing his guitar. The ukelele is real, the store helper even tuned it before he placed it in the box. Then I altered it a bit before we gave it to her. Her reaction was WOW! It was well worth it. Here is how I transformed it.

be careful what you wish for

2008-10-24T17:36:00.000+08:00

I have been wanting to go for a vacation for a long time now. I badly needed a rest coz I have'nt been sleeping well. My work was affected and I feel sluggish and a bit depressed everyday.

I finally got my wish but in a bad way. The doctor gave me an MC(medical cert) for a month to recuperate from an operation last Monday. He had taken out some fibroids inside my uterus and my cysts and appendix. It was very painful not just physically but financially and most of all emotionally.

But all in all, I'm all right.

Thanks to your prayers, get well soon greetings, encouragements, cards, flowers, fruits, balloons and all.
Thanks to my mama and my mother-in-law who are here to assist me.
Thanks to my ever loving husband Lew for his undying support.
Thanks to Papa Jesus for never letting me down.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2008-10-02T23:15:00.000+08:00

To those who sent their warmest greetings..
My heartfelt thanks to you..

I am now 32 years old.. (out of the calendar hehe)
But though I am still childless at this age, I have felt a lot of love around me..
Thanks to you all..

i won! i won!

2008-09-09T19:23:00.001+08:00

Wowoweee!!! I won the Scrappersatsg Challenge#22 with this altered creation...

I always win thru random.org :) (RE: Challenge #11)... Its my only chance to be chosen as you know my scrapmates at Scrappersatsg are VERY VERY VERY TALENTED!

Thanks Maps for the yummy RAK!

Scrappersatsg Challenge #23 is UP, visit us and maybe you can get some inspirations. Here is my take...

OLA Outing

2008-08-27T00:33:00.000+08:00

It was the annual OLA(my team at Citibank) outing at Siloso beach, Sentosa. The whole day was full of fun. We were divided into groups and wore matching shirts. There were lots of games and food. In the end, the red team won, followed by green team and the blue team played the penalty game for being the last. Here are some pix…

the place...

logo from our shirts...

complete us.. (those who attended, that is...)

the blue team... {bal,lhynne, derwin, tess, joel, trina(chichuy's mom), chris(lhynne's fiance)}

the red team... {joy, ling(our boss), rachelle, joel, paz, ronald, ken(sitting down, that's chichuy's dad)}

the green team... {richie, joseph, anne, edil, vivian, me, nino}

the guys playing basketball...

volleyball game... (the green team won here)

making sandcastles... (red team's masterpiece was chosen here)

the OLA boys...

the OLA girls...

the kids...

Remember this cutie pie? from here, here and here

Lew and I got to babysit her for the whole day. She’s so easy to look after, no-fuss, non-crying and goes to whoever would take her.

Photos courtesy of Nino..

Sunday well spent

2008-08-25T21:29:00.000+08:00

Here are some LOs I finished while watching the last day of Olympics yesterday.

This one is so simple, just layering and some inking. I printed the title and journal. Even the embellishments are store-bought, already made. And I only found out that the scallop blade attachment thingy for my cutterpede is broken. So I had to handcut the scallop of this LO.

For this one, a bit of effort, I got carried away with the stickles again. Don't know how many dots I did here. Then the swirl was a raw chipboard from lil davies that I had to emboss with gold powder.

I have some 3 more projects to be finished, almost done, just the picture missing..

It’s raining men!

2008-08-24T16:41:00.000+08:00

I’m not very much into basketball but boy! Oh boy! .. have you seen the basketball team of Spain for the Olympics? I’m watching the Gold medal match between USA and Spain. I’m drooling over Juan Carlos Navarro, the Gasol brothers, they even have a Rudy Fernandez, and most especially the 17-year old super talent Ricky Rubio.

This boy will go a long way with his amazing talent and killer looks...

It was a very tight game but USA has won the Gold with 118 points, and Spain with Silver only at 107.

Credits: Photos are from fotoclick.acb.com

Scan no more!

2008-08-24T10:49:00.000+08:00

After 6 years of service, my good old dependable scanner, Canon D1250U2, finally gave up. It was a big help when I was just starting out to do my digitals as I am scanning those pictures taken by film. At first, we thought it was just the power, but after testing it so many times, I guess it's time to say goodbye...

goodbye my scanner,
goodbye my friend,
you have been the one,
you have been the one for me...

=)
I'm off to do some scrappin' now.. I hope to do a lot today...

Save the date for Chris and Lhynne

2008-08-22T22:16:00.000+08:00

I keep on putting off doing my digitals as I wanted to upgrade my Photoshop Elements to version6 (budget hindering haha!). But my teammate Aileen has asked for my help to do a sample'Save the date' for them, so I gladly obliged. Here they are...

This one below was their own idea. I just made the sunset more dramatic, loose the stray ships from afar, and tweaked here and there...

Just to show you what the original look like...

Another version, I made the picture into sepia and incorporated it into one of raspberry road designs paper. Just erased some parts of the picture, changed the fonts, and some tweaking.

It's a date!

2008-08-20T00:26:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since Lew and I went on a date. Of course, we always go out but I don't really call those dates anymore. Well maybe this is what happens after 8 years of being married haha! Actually today is our 8th year ROM wedding anniversary. At first, we don't have plans as we were both busy at work. But in the evening, Lew asked me if I'm already free, and I said yes! of course! We went to Hog's Breath Cafe at Vivo City. It has a nice ambiance, overlooking Sentosa and there's a live entertainment (a guy was singing while playing the guitar.. i tell ya he's quite good). Both of us ordered steaks. Here is a pix of our dessert.

We got to relax, listen to music and enjoy good food. I just remembered, the guy sang 'I live my life for you' by Firehouse, corny as it may sound but I really feel that way for Lew.

You know you're everything to me and I could never see
The two of us apart
And you know I give myself to you and no matter what you do
I promise you my heart

I've built my world around you and I want you to know
I need you like I've never needed anyone before

I live my life for you
I want to be by your side in everything that you do
And if there's only one thing you can believe is true
I live my life for you

I dedicate my life to you, you know that I would die for you
But our love would last forever
And I will always be with you and there is nothing we can't do
As long as we're together

I just can't live without you and I want you to know
I need you like I've never needed anyone before

homemade pizza for dinner

2008-08-18T21:04:00.000+08:00

This is a staple in our house. It is very quick and easy to make. And Lew and I like it so much. Some of my friends enjoyed making it with their kids, sort of bonding time together.

Ingredients:
Any white bread
PREGO chunky mushroom pasta sauce or RAGU pizza sauce
sliced ham or pizza topping
red and/or green bell pepper
canned narcissus mushrooms or fresh button mushrooms
Del Monte pineapple chunks (I prefer Del Monte because it is sweet)
white onion
mozarella cheese
parmesan cheese (optional)
chili flakes(optional)

Instructions:
Toast both sides of the white bread so it will be crunchy once you bite into it. Spread the pizza sauce on one side. Next is the ham. Then put all the vegetables in, order doesn't matter. Then the cheese. Last is the chili flakes. Pop in the oven one more time to melt the mozzarella. Serve hot.

for Gaby

2008-08-17T14:14:00.000+08:00

Together with fellow scrapper friends, Marix and Abby, we helped Pre to put together a 12-page guestbook for Gaby's 1st birthday. She asked us to do 3 pages each, provided the pictures and we can do it however we want. Although Gaby's theme was Disney princess, none of us did a layout according to the theme which made the whole guestbook uniform. It turned out quite well and Gaby's dad(which I learned was also a batchmate Mapuan) liked it very much. Here are my contributions...

Picture Perfect

2008-08-11T21:39:00.000+08:00

This is us.. finally a complete picture of the Dime family. It was taken at Picture Company in Bonifacio Heights on July 26, 2008.

(from left)
1st row are Harold, Lew, Tatay and Glen
2nd row are Alma(Harold's wife and my bestfriend), then me(Lew's beautiful half haha!), Nanay, Glee(Glen's wife)
3rd row are Ronald, Gabriel and Julianne (both are Glen and Glee's kids)
4th row are Alyssa and Harvey (both are Harold and Alma's kids)

Lew is the eldest of the four brothers, followed by Harold and his twin Glen, and finally Ronald.

This is my extended family. Acquired by marriage but loved as my own.

I'm back

2008-08-06T21:51:00.000+08:00

Yes, I'm back but still in bakasyon mode. No interest in anything. Still in relaxation mode. Hehehe ..

So many things happened in Pinas.

Good things:
Shopping. Barbecued Tuna belly in Texas Roadhouse Grill (the best! melts in your mouth). Different flavors of Selecta ice cream. Greenwich special. Jolly hotdog. Mama's Dinuguan,puto and gulaman. Red ribbon Ube macapuno cake. Dark Knight at Glorietta 4. Memory Lane store. Four Season's Fit and Right drink. Sound asleep at 9pm. Bonifacio Heights. Being a tindera at my Mama's store. Naia Terminal 3.

Bad things:
My migraine attacks got worse. My younger brother got an apendectomy. Lew's nephew is in and out of the hospital. Heavy rains. Traffic. Long queues. Delayed flights.

The most important thing is that we got to be with our loved ones once again. Nothing can compare to that.

H for Aby

2008-07-16T00:28:00.000+08:00

Another wood altered alpha for Lew's pamangkin, Harvey. I am rushing everything before we go home to the Philippines on Saturday. I only thought of doing these things too late so now I think I'm stressed..

Its my first time to use stickles when I made this. I think I went overboard. Confession: I have started hoarding these small sparkly bottles hehehe (ding!ding!ding! an idea just came to mind.. Scrappersatsg Challenge #20)

For Julianne and Gabe

2008-07-11T22:50:00.000+08:00

Lew's pamangkins, Julianne and Gabe, arrived in the Philippines today. We will be seeing them on Saturday as we are going home too. Yeheeyy!!!

These are some wood altered alphas I made for them.

Chichuy's guestbook cover page

2008-07-09T21:59:00.000+08:00

Kirstin's birthday last Sunday was a blast. A lot .. and I mean A LOT .. of kids were there. There was a magic show and lots of games and prizes. A wide variety of food such as hokkien mee, sushi, vegetarian spaghetti, pizza, finger foods, salads and mini cakes were served. The cake was so cute and yummy, a 2 layered chocolate chewy fudge cake covered in baby pink marzipan with little flowers around, dangling stars and a tiara on top.

As promised, here is the cover page of Kirstin's guestbook. The base was from Nana's kids, large flower from heidi grace, foam thickers, Happy birthday from around the block and some embellies. The words 'Please sign my guestbook' was edited in Photoshop elements and I just mounted in extra thick foam dots. The silver butterfly, I decorated with pink, violet and gold stickles. I had fun making this guestbook, although I had some sleepless nights in making the digital LOs.. it was worth it because it was for sweet Kirstin aka Chichuy.

Chichuy's digital LOs partII

2008-07-06T10:36:00.000+08:00

I have finished these at around 9:30 last night.. the covers much later.. Then Lew and I rushed to the printing center.. good thing they are still open.

I wanted to print these into transparencies but the outcome didn't quite went well as I have expected. So I had these printed in photo paper instead.. 3x3 size each and attached at the center of the white chipboard album pages. I was going to stamp some swirls around it but I am afraid I'd mess them up so I let them be.

I have yet taken a pix of the front and back of the album, clouds are not cooperating.. they keep blocking my natural light hehe.. I'll try to post the cover later.

Credits: All digital elements are from the very talented Susan Darter of raspberryroaddesigns

Chichuy's LOs continued...this baby is sooooo cute!

Chichuy's digital LOs

2008-07-05T12:27:00.000+08:00

I'm trying to finish the digital LOs that I am planning to print in transparencies/photo paper and attach to the guestbook I am giving as a gift tomorrow. Trina suggested that instead of buying a gift, I would make a guestbook for Kirstin. I saw this plain white chipboard book in Spotlight and I thought it would be perfect. I would make a traditional LO as cover and just attach the monthly digital LOs inside. I can't make paper LOs inside because it would make the book bulkier. I don't think the binding can handle it.

Anyway, below is what I made so far.. isn't she adorable?

Credits: All digital elements are from the very talented Susan Darter of raspberryroaddesigns

I'm posting again

2008-07-05T12:10:00.000+08:00

I finally got my mojo back.. I'm posting again... :P
But it seems my wacom is not cooperating. I don't know if the USB of my laptop is loose or it's the USB connector of my wacom. Ahuhuhu I wish it won't breakdown. I only had it for a year and I really really love my wacom. Its so white and pretty and very reliable... I wonder if they can replace just the USB connector.

happy birthday sister!

2008-07-04T22:44:00.000+08:00

Our scrapbooking guru and friend Marix is celebrating her birthday on Sunday. Instead of receiving gifts, she will be giving away a RAK!!! Checkout her blog for the details.

Here is what I wrote to her:

Your contest made me think about what I really want to have at this moment, i wish i could save up to have all of them by end of the year... i wish!

1. craft robo.. since i saw how this wonder cutter works, i fell in love with it.

2. photoshop elements 6.0 software .. i badly need this, take note its NEED not WANT hehehehe.. i wish i could have it soon!

3. the new NIKON D700.. the ultimate wish! to take better picures of/for my scrapbooks of course..

Happy happy bday sister!

for vera

2008-03-19T23:43:00.000+08:00

for ansley

2008-03-19T23:27:00.001+08:00

for agatha

2008-02-24T17:36:00.000+08:00

Scrappin Kids tags Charity Drive

2008-02-21T23:50:00.000+08:00

first attempt to bake bibingka vigan-style

2008-02-10T23:37:00.000+08:00

T is for Together

2008-02-10T23:36:00.001+08:00

being a mom

2008-02-10T23:33:00.000+08:00

A gift to my sister-in-law, Ate Vilma, together with her beautiful daughters.

Christmas gifts for the Flores family

2008-02-10T23:30:00.001+08:00

These are for our dear neighbors, Mark and Juneth, in Bullion Park. The first one is for a family picture, second is for their sweet daughter Agatha.

scrappinkids a tag! charity drive

2008-02-10T23:14:00.000+08:00

eto na gurl.. as promised..

2008-01-28T01:16:00.000+08:00

happy bday celyn

2008-01-28T01:13:00.001+08:00

wow advance to ah
my first time to finish an LO for a friend almost 2 weeks in advance for her bday

happy bday amrei

2008-01-28T01:10:00.000+08:00

so sorry we couldn't come
but here is the gift tag I made for you..

simple gift tag for a special girl

2008-01-26T01:32:00.000+08:00

a long overdue wedding gift

2008-01-23T23:11:00.001+08:00

gift for aslee

2008-01-21T20:50:00.000+08:00

christmas gift.. still?

2008-01-16T23:07:00.000+08:00

2008 changes in ME

2008-01-13T22:10:00.000+08:00

journal
1. eat healthy
2. sleep early
3. spend wisely
4. start reading again
5. watch less TV

rosiel

2008-01-01T15:28:00.001+08:00

coasters

2008-01-01T15:25:00.001+08:00

personalized wooden coasters as gifts to some officemates

wood monograms

2008-01-01T14:58:00.000+08:00

these are gifts to some friends.. with permission from bechay to copy her projects

LO gifts

2008-01-01T14:42:00.000+08:00

collected/scrapped pictures of kids of some of my officemates

chipboard monograms

2008-01-01T14:35:00.000+08:00

made these chipboard monograms as gifts to my officemates .. inspired by one of our projects in a scrapmeet

23rd birthday

2007-10-30T23:24:00.000+08:00

Materials & Techniques:
- PSE5;
- brushes: obsidian dawn SS-swirlsII 632, SS-swirlsII 640, SS-swirl 700, SS-frames 1016, SS-playingcards 2ofhearts, SS-playingcards 3ofhearts; PSE Artwork Framework19;
- CS: blue textured canvas as background; purple red textured canvass with doodle; maroon matting; stamped pink textured canvass

beautiful

2007-10-30T23:23:00.000+08:00

Materials used :
- Photoshop Elements 3.
- CS: blue blox texturized with canvass
- PP: Raspberry Road designs RR_MD 04, RR_MD 07, RR_MD 08, RR_MD 09
- Embellishments: Raspberry Road designs RR_Bookplate 02
- Font: Garamond

** Credit: Raspberry Road designs used are digi freebies from the works of talented Susan Darter

Techniques:
Using Photoshop Elements 3.0
1. paint background with blue then texturize with canvass (scaling:107%; relief:2; light:bottom left) and use as cs
2. drag and resize Raspberry Road designs pp RR_MD 09 and change opacity to 54% and use as background pp
3. drag and resize Raspberry Road designs pp RR_MD 07 and use for matting of picture
4. crop picture, drag, simple emboss and include drop shadow
5. select pattern of roses from Raspberry Road designs pp RR_MD 04 and drag onto layout, simple emboss and include soft edge shadow
6. resize Raspberry Road designs RR_Bookplate 02 and include text date
7. select Raspberry Road designs pp RR_MD 08, write text, crop and drag onto layout; simple emboss
8. write 'beautiful' text, use simple outer emboss and include soft edge shadow.
9. tweak and tweak until finally satisfied haha

groovy kind of love

2007-10-30T23:21:00.001+08:00

Materials:
- Photoshop Elements;
- PP: SG_Refresh_EHI_12x12_PinkFlowers from scrapgirls (converted color to blue), shaped like a flower using artwork flower22 shape
- CS: box painted in blue and texturized with canvass
- 2 flower brads in letter 'O' of word 'groovy'
- 3 ribbons on top: 3 colors(blue,red,light blue) of boxes texturized with burlap, with simple emboss bevel and low drop shadow
- 4th ribbon behind words 'kind of'
- obsidian dawn brushes; SS-frame 1300; SS-office stuff stapler 28, SS-swirlII544, SS-hearts 208, SS-grunge scratches 206 , SG_Refresh_TDO_Stitches for the stitching

love and kisses

2007-10-30T22:46:00.000+08:00

My entry to scrappersatsg 143 challenge

shy... not!

2007-10-30T22:10:00.000+08:00

My entry to {Create} Make it happen 6x12 challenge

same bday

2007-09-06T23:13:00.001+08:00

Scraplifted from the works of Elsie Flannigan.

making faces

2007-09-06T23:09:00.000+08:00

Scraplifted from the works of Mary Grace Abuzman.

dhang

2007-09-06T23:02:00.001+08:00

Scraplifted from the works of Jamie Waters

1 life, live it

2007-09-06T22:56:00.001+08:00

My entry to Chellenge#4 at scrappersatsg.

pure child

2007-09-06T22:45:00.000+08:00

My entry to Challenge#3 at scrappersatsg

My Angels

2007-09-06T22:18:00.000+08:00

My entry to Challenge#3 at scrappersatsg.

She

2007-09-06T22:12:00.000+08:00

My entry to Challenge#2 at scrappersatsg.

i wish

2007-09-06T21:50:00.000+08:00

** i wish **

I wish to see the face of my children,
watch them grow day by day and
guide them to learn.

I wish to hear their voices,
their laughter,
their cries,
their whispers and
their songs.

I wish to care for them,
feed them,
clothe them,
spend time with them and
play with them.

I wish to heal their wounds,
wipe their tears,
comfort them,
protect them and
encourage them.

I wish to teach them to pray,
to hope,
to dream and
to love .

All these are just wishes for now,

for I am childless,

and have been waiting for a long time to receive God's gift and
to be a mother beyond all compare.

I pray that someday all my wishes will come true...

And a little child will come to me,
hug me and
kiss me and
greet me

"Happy Mother's Day Mama"...

Sai at 4

2007-08-22T00:26:00.001+08:00

I am planning to change the background to a plain cs, hmmmmm...

Real Beauty

2007-08-22T00:18:00.001+08:00

I attended Malou's wedding on June2007. She was really a beauty on her wedding day, so radiant and glowing. She's the last to get married among the girls in our highschool barkada.

Rodfel

2007-08-22T00:15:00.000+08:00

Gift to Rodfel on his birthday April 2007.

loving unconditionally

2007-08-22T00:11:00.001+08:00

Gift to Gladys on Mother's Day 2007.

Happy Mother's Day Rach

2007-08-21T23:55:00.001+08:00

These 3 LOs are gifts to Rachel on Mother's Day 2007. I first asked for Mau's help to provide pictures. Then after finishing them, even asked Rachelle to give the concealed LOs to Mau, implying that I need him to pass it to She. Mau, Jaelle and Rodfel wrote their personal messages for Rach on the Los. I know she was really surprised and touched.

together forever

2007-08-21T23:40:00.000+08:00

Gift to Jane on Mother's Day 2007.

adoring each other

2007-08-21T23:22:00.000+08:00

Gift to Babes on Mother's Day 2007.

my work sister

2007-08-21T23:14:00.001+08:00

Birthday gift to Bache on her birthday April 2007.

a mother's love is forever

2007-08-21T22:39:00.000+08:00

Gift to Lau on Mother's Day 2007.

Sweet friend

2007-08-21T22:21:00.000+08:00

My gift to She for her birthday on March 2007.

Aying's album

2007-07-07T03:16:00.000+08:00

This 8x8 album was my gift to Aying for Christmas 2006. I wanted to give her something special and unique and heartfelt and handmade. She had sent me tons of pictures over the years and they also came here in Singapore last June 2006 so I have lots of pictures to choose from. The finished album has 8 pages with 16 LOs in total. Some of the LOs were not shown here as I forgot to scan them.

I took the picture of this LO when it was yet unfinished that's why it doesn't show the journal. It was actually beside the big picture which was a definition of family written in vellum.

Harvey, so serious. Journal is included in the picture using Adobe Photoshop Elements.

I got wild on stamping.

This same picture was used for the invitation for ther 8th and 1st bdays. Wraped the chipboard with pp that match the color of their clothes.

Sai, modeling the cute winter outfits that Tita Leah gave her. The title was directly printed on the pp. Punched some snowflaks on vellum for added embellishment. The small pictures were placed on metal frames with i dressed up with acrylic paint to match the matting of the big pictures.

Harvey spend most of his free time with his cousin Clarence, playing video games and they even share the same passin in taekwondo. Letters are in vellum.

Lumpy was her favorite character at age2. Aying said you can always hear her sing the song from the show that's why I it inspired me to use it as journaling. Title is the negative part of the cut Sissix alphabet.

Cousins playing in the pool.

Picture was taken in Budget Terminal, Singapore. While the others were checking in, Sai and Tito Lew were goofing around.

A very nice view from inside the cable car, taken by Lew. I made mini cable cars to house their picture, manipulated the wire for the title.

This shows the places they visited on their 10days trip here in Singapore ..

Rain's unfinished LO

2007-07-07T03:02:00.000+08:00

I gave this LO of Rain to Ate Rowee as a gift and to inspire her to start scrapbooking. It was up to her to add the journaling. The picture/name was edited in Adobe Photoshop Elements. I handcut the pp for the flowers and knot the maroon ribbons to serve as leaves and stems. The pp served as the ground for the flowers and tore it to have the above effect. A small part of the pp was not pasted to the cs then crumpled inward.

Another unfinished LO of Rain.

Happy Birthday Bache 2006

2007-07-07T02:41:00.000+08:00

I asked Mau to send me some pix of Bache so I could make her an LO so Jaelle and Rodfel would give it to her on her birthday (April 9th). I have just discovered the inking technique and made a mess on the hearts. I was going to throw them away but then I thought, 'hey! this is scrapbooking! I could do whatever I want!'.. And later on I realized, I liked the distressed effect it brought on the layout. I handstitched the lines/designs inside the heart. The element with the ribbon opens up 3 folds to reveal 3 more pictures of Bache together with Jaelle and Rodfel as they grow up. She really liked it!

Ethan's ultrasound scan

2007-07-07T02:03:00.000+08:00

This was Ethan's first picture when he was still 6 weeks old. I finally convinced Anababes to display Ethan's scan in a scrapbook. I did this LO to give her an idea how it was done. I was still a newbie that time so pardon my style.

LO was in pink since we didn't know its gender yet. This scan was taken on his 10th week. An installment.

This was taken on his 3rd month. Anababes and Elmer were very excited to know its gender. I offered to do the page again...

Anababes was so afraid to mess up the album if she did the next pages on her own, so she asked me to do the 4th month as well. I asked her to buy more patterned paper.

At 5th month scan , the doctor announced that it was a boy. I had just bought some foam stamps and this was the first time I used it. After this LO, I passed the album to Anababes so she could explore her creative side. She has continued with the other scans, even surpassing what I have done. Go Ana! Scrap lang ng scrap!

Chinchin is now a little Lady

2007-07-07T01:28:00.000+08:00

When Lew and I were still dating, Chinchin was our baby. We would take her wherever we go. Not sure if you could read the journaling, but it describes a scene where a stranger thought that she was our child and even said that she looks like Lew more than me. We just laughed coz Chinchin is my brother's eldest daughter. The main picture was taken during her 9th birthday party and all the small pictures were when she was still 2yrs old. She has grown up so easily.

I have just started scrapbooking when I did this page. It again has the same interactive style that you have to lift/swing/pull something to reveal a journal or pix. This was my thing during that time.

My First

2007-07-07T01:11:00.000+08:00

This is my first ever scrapbook page. I don't have a kid of my own so I focused mainly on my nieces as subjects. This LO shows my nieces' pix and their qualities that time. The picture was taken after Chinchin and Tintin's birthday party (December 28, 2005). It can swing up to display more journaling.