Back When You Were 3

The school where my 2 boys go declared a 2-week suspension of classes due to the AH1N1 (It's-one-in-one... as pronounced by our Pinoy Boxing Champion). They go back to school on July 6 so there goes the peace & quiet I enjoyed for just 1 short week!! My DD's the only one going to school and she says it's unfair. lol!!!

Youngest DS says that he'll go to the park everyday to play while school's out. As a remembrance, here's a layout I made of DS at the village park when he was just 3 years old. I used the new Sassafras Anthem papers available at Lasting Impression. I just love Sassafras! It's so playful and colorful! More please!!!

It's been quite a while since I've made a mini so I decided to do one to finish off my Sassafras Anthem stash. I've a quite a few (ok, a lot!!) small-sized photos of DS in my photo box. I decided to use random pictures of DS from the age of 2 to 5. To tie it all up, I used the DaisyDs "This Boy Descriptive Words".

Materials used are available at Lasting Impression. Please check out their gallery & online store now! Thanks for looking!!!

Teresa Collins Mini Album

Wanna do a mini with no fuss? Try Teresa Collin's Die-cuts Collection available at Lasting Impression. These are so cool. Just pop out the cards, put in your photos, embellish and voila! An instant mini album for any occasion! I used my Bind-It-All to put everything together and I absolutely love the effect.

I call this mini "Favorite Photos & Memories of 2008". In one go, I can glean over the "best" of the past year. I left out some blank pages so I can sneak in more pictures to complete the remaining 6 months. Once I get the photos, it's just paste & glue for me.

Keep it simple! was my mantra while putting this mini together so I stuck to a simple color plan. Since the die-cuts are mostly black & white/beige, I introduced only one primary color: RED! I then looked for embellishments in the same color family. (Hooray for Making Memories' 5th Avenue Elizabeth line!) The rub-ons and other stickers I used came from my stash. As I say, a mini is one great way of using up your leftover stash.

Meanwhile the mostly wallet sized photos were printed from my EPSON computer at home . You may use excess photos from your backlog too. Talk about keeping it within budget which I definitely like!

Please check out Lasting Impression's gallery for the materials used for this mini.

It's Finally Here!

I finally got my Bind-it-All from Lasting Impression yesterday! In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, check it out here. Yipee!!! Just in time for the album that I prepared for my DB, Alan.

The mini is not quite finished but I just had to try out the Bind-it-All. I am just amazed at what this little machine can do! I used new 7 gypsies paper and some "old" Foof-a-la papers in my stash. Just as my scrapping buddy, Marian King said, it looks so professionally done! Woop! Woop! I can't wait to start on my next projects and see what this baby can do!!!!

The Bind-it-All is available at Lasting Impression. Only a few units left so maybe you can give Ms. Vivian a buzz.

Best of You Mini-album

I finally finished it! I just had to add an extra 6x6 chipboard to fit in more pictures. That's what I get for being trigger happy! Oh, and I had to stop myself from adding more (and more) products otherwise I would never ever get to finish it.

My First Baby Shoot

My good friend, Blessie, gave birth last November 2007 to a beautiful baby boy, her last(!) in a brood of 4. I came over to her place to take pictures of her son at 2 weeks old. I absolutely love the sight, smell & touch of a newborn baby! As a gift, I've decided to do a mini-album for Baby Cedric.

The White Out Line is WeRMemoryKeepers' newest line of papers which are perfect for mini-albums. One side has a regular 12x12 design while the back side has 4 6x6 designs. With this great option, I decided to use these papers for Baby Cedric's mini.

I used Canson sheets (available at National Bookstore) as base for this Baby mini. They are about the size of a cartolina sheet & comes in different colors. You'll need 1 or more sheets, depending on the number of pages you need. Measure 6 inches height & cut across the sheet. Fold them as in an accordion.

I then cut the WeRMemoryKeepers sheets at a 6x12 size then adhered each on the "face" of the Canson base. It's really so easy since the paper is designed with four 6x6 blocks. This way, I won't have to worry about the base peeking in through the middle fold.

I hope my friend, Blessie, likes this as much as I enjoyed making it.

Thanks for looking! Please check out Lasting Impression's gallery for the credits.

A Xmas 2007 Mini-album

I still had a lot of leftover scraps from my 7gypsies layout so I decided to make a Xmas 2007 mini-album. I do love the non-traditional colors of the Pretoria line! Luckily the vibrant colors matched perfectly with my pictures.

The nice thing about doing mini-albums is that I can use my scraps!!!! Not just paper scraps, but any leftover rub-on & embellishment. I was even able to use the beads I got from the last Scrapfest & Studio Azul's mini leaf sequins. Hopefully, all this mixing & matching does not make my work appear chopsuey.

As base, I used 4x4 chipboard sheets given to me by my good friend, Liza G. (Thanks so much, Liz!!!) I cut the pp into the same size and adhered them on both sides of the chipboard using double-sided tape (my best friend when doing a mini!---fast & not messy). After finishing the pages, I used my new crop-a-dile to punch 2 holes on the left side of the chipboard. The crop-a-dile is one mean machine --- it punches holes effortlessly! To put it all together, I just inserted a key ring and further embellished this with ribbons.

I've learned several lessons while doing this mini so next time I do another mini I'd keep these tips in mind:

1. Punch out the holes first before designing the page. This way, no picture, rub-on, or embellisment gets punched out.
2. Tip for the ribbons: Fold ribbons it into half & then insert a brad to keep in place. Makes for a neater look.
3. Use double-sided tape to adhere pages to the chipboard. Wet adhesive will produce a wrinkly effect on the pages when dried. Meanwhile, dry adhesive like the glue stick may not be as long-lasting.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this mini. I hope to make another one soon!

Materials Used:

1. 7gypsies - Pretoria line: Bokburg, Olifants, Benoni, Numbi, Edenvale

2. 7 gypsies Pretoria collection Frames & Tags Stickers

3. Scenic Route Christmas Rub-on Words

4. Swatchbook Impress-ons Narratives by Karen Russell

5. Versafine - Sepia Green

6. Black Staz-on

7. Fancy Pants 12x12 Clear Stamps - From the Garden

8. Maya Road Clear Stamps - Scrolls

9. Heidi Grace rub-ons - Words & Borders

10.Buttons, beads, mini-sequin leaves

11. Prima flowers

12. Lace & ribbons

Play Tag

Instructions: Each player starts with 7 random habits/facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged & to read your blog!

I start blogging and I immediately get tagged!! Har-har... I'm quite new to this blogging thingy so how do I do this? Copying the rules was easy enough but I feel a little lazy to think. So as in any game, I'll try to do a short cut. (I hope this counts.) For the Scrapfest 4 held in October 2007, I made a themed mini-album for Scrappinmoms. Aptly titled "I Confess", I guess this will do. For now.

An acetate sheet was used for the cover. I just stamped the title and brushed acrylic paint on the backside.




We all have our idiosyncracies.

Well, here goes nothing.....
1. I am a creature of habit. I like going to the same restaurants & order the same food. My mornings will not be complete if I don't get to sit in the lanai and finish reading the newspaper from cover to cover. I find comfort in the familiar things. There is order & routine in my daily life.

2. I'm no pushover. I've never been afraid to speak my mind, as long as I believe that I'm right & within reason. Not that I resort to temperamental outbursts. It is a desire in me to correct any wrong or fix any imbalance I see in life. Ignoring everyday glitches may be the easy way out for some but NOT for me!

3. I'm a chocoholic! I'll never say no to chocolates.

4. I'm pusong mamon (softie). I am easily moved. Happy endings, sad endings, even soppy commercials make me cry. I'm not naive though. I just enjoy a good cry.... once in a while.



5. I don't do PINK. Give me fuchsia, hot pink, magenta, even old rose instead! Sweet, tweetums baby pink is just not ME.



6. No smoking. Please, not on my hair, not on my clothes, nor on my skin. Spare my lungs, my body. Please, not in my space.



7. I used to hate coffee! Although I'm still not a regular drinker, I certainly can enjoy it now.

Maybe this can cover the rest....

Can a tag end with me? Well, I guess if you read this and you fill like playing this game, go ahead.... Btw, I missed out the alphabet song. Maybe later.

Thanks, Timi!!!