Friday Photos - The Dizzy Star

These are Christmas lights:

...taken with slow shutter speed. I don't know the exact settings but from what little I could understand of my husband's explanation, you set your shutter speed, and then click, and move the camera around slowly. And you get this effect. Makes sense? :-/

We have several of this photos because my husband had fun taking them. This is just one of them. Interesting isn't it?

Matching Dresses

Remember the Anna Dress I made for my daughter? Well... I made another one.

  

For her doll :) She doesn't have a name. Andrea just calls her 'Baby Doll'. 

A closer look.

The buttons in front are just aesthetic. The opening is actually at the back. The back opens from top to bottom and I used Velcro on both sides to close it.  

I am linking up to the following parties:

Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | Pink Hippo Party at Pinkapotamus | Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Take-A-Look Tuesdayt at Sugar Bee Crafts | Handmade Tuesday at Ladybug Blessings | Tuesday To-Do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Homemade Projects at Tip Junkie | Link Party at Running with Glitter | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Tuesday Confessional Link Party at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy | Cure for Common Monday at Lines Across My Face | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife |

Not your regular working day

The Philippines was hit by Typhoon Pedring, international name Typhoon Nesat, yesterday.

This video is not mine, I just got it from YouTube. This is in the city of Manila, and that is the Manila Bay. I live farther inland, and fortunately, my house is not located near any dam or any body of water. My family is safe. Thank you to all my blog friends who sent their well-wishes. 

The area immediately beside the Manila Bay is called Baywalk. And beside Baywalk is Roxas Boulevard. The US Embassy in Manila is on Roxas Boulevard.

Photo Credit

And this is Roxas Boulevard.

Photo Credits: Before, After

 There used to be a lot of small bars and restaurants along Baywalk. It was a nice place to hang out in the evenings after work. But they were cleared a few years ago when a new mayor took his seat. Even without the restaurants and bars, it's still a nice place for a walk. 

Photo credit: Before, After

Not anymore for a while I guess. Those decorative concrete blocks inlaid on the sidewalk were dislodged when they were hit with the waves.

While all of this was happening... I was on my way to work. My husband was still asleep when I left the house and when he woke up, he asked me why I even left the house. My mom called pretty much asking me the same thing. I don't know what I was thinking... I guess I was thinking it was just another stormy day and work is rarely cancelled due to those. 

My house is located on a small street, framed by tall houses so when I went outside, the street is protected from the strong winds. I can hear the winds howling when I was in our bedroom on the 2nd floor, but when I went outside, it looked peaceful enough so I decided to walk to the main road to wait for a cab. When I got to the main road, I noticed very few vehicles... which is rare during this time of day. The first thought that crossed my mind was... "Yey!!! No traffic!!". 

As my cab was making it's way to my office, that's when I started noticing that the small trees along the road was bent almost halfway down due to the strong wind. But since there we weren't passing through any flooded streets, I didn't think much about it. The Philippines is hit with typhoons every month... or every few weeks even, during the monsoon season which starts around June and lasts around November... or December... or January... or February... even until March. It used to be just around October but lately, we don't know anymore.

I made it to the office safe and sound. I found out that most of my officemates opted to stay at home. I had meetings to attend yesterday morning you see... and THOSE were what I was thinking about. When I got to the office, my manager who is based in Taiwan, asked me to go home :-/ I had stuff to finish so I ended up staying until 4PM.

And today? The sky is still overcast... strong winds are still blowing, though not as strong as yesterday... and it's still raining. But today... today is just another regular working day. 

NOTE: As I write this, I found out that we are bracing for another typhoon... Typhoon Quiel, which is scheduled to hit us within 24 hours.

Creating Success Around the World

Welcome to 

Creating Success Around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the world.

Click here to learn more.

 Sorry I don't have an interview scheduled for today. It has been a really REALLY busy 2 weeks (and counting) for me. I hope to make it up to you guys next week. However, you can check out the interviews from my co-hosts:

Australasia - Jill @ Creating My Way to Success

Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble 

The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

South America - Dolly of Marya Mariah
Asia - Me! :)

And now, it's your turn! Join our blog hop by linking your blog to our link party below! After linking, make sure you visit a few other links because that's what this hop is all about :)

Do you want your to be interviewed and featured here? If I see your link below, you just might be! I am always looking for talented bloggers from Asia for my next interview feature. I'm sure my other co-hosts are too. Leave your link and hope to meet you soon!

Crochet-Along: Cowl Progress

I think I'm doing well. I didn't finish the 12 inches I was supposed to last Friday. I ended up unravelling several times due to some mistakes I made. But I was able to make up for it all weekend while watching my daughter play all day. Here's what I have now:

Yep, I have 26 inches. Halfway there! 

The pattern said I should have 52 inches. But Rachel said we can adjust to fit our style and I may have to do that. You see, the yarn I'm using is acryllic... it's not very soft so my cowl, is errr... NOT cowling. It's a little stiff. And this is the only type of yarn you can buy around here so I don't have a choice. After I'm done, I will have to find some way to use this. I love the color...

And I'm just happy it looks like the ones posted on Maybe Matilda's Flickr group. 

Which means I was able to follow the pattern... and I know how to crochet! YEY!!! And given my attention span (short), I decided now is the perfect time to squeeze in learning how to knit as well...

So last weekend, in between crocheting and watching my daughter, I was reading a book about knitting and trying very hard to understand what it was saying. I had to let my husband read it and understand it for me (he's better at following instructions and manuals) and then explain to me in detail what I should be doing. I'm not really making anything... I'm just knitting a square (that's all I know how to make for now... I haven't gotten the hang of adding or reducing stitches yet) and I'll just figure out what to use it for when I'm done. I'm just practicing because as it is, I keep dropping my knitting needles and ruining my stitches X( 

Ok, back to finishing that cowl for me!

Friday Photos - I am trying

Before I post my Friday Photo for today, let me give a brief explanation for my blogging absence. It can pretty much be summed up by one word:

WORK.

I wish I can say that I have projects lined up which I will be posting soon. But the truth is, I've been too busy at work to think about doing anything much when I get home. When I get home, I just want to rest my mind and body. I'm just... tired. All the time. 

But...

I am trying to learn something new. 

This photo is not particularly beautiful. It just shows you what I'm hoping to try. I say 'hoping' because I joined the Crochet-Along at Maybe Matilda, and we're supposed to have 12 inches of our cowl by today... and well, my photo pretty much showed you what I have.

I'm hitting a lot of stumbling blocks lately.., with my project at work, and this one. I don't want to bore you all with my project at work, so let me share a little about my attempting-to-crochet-along project.

Rachel's first lesson for her crochet-along was choosing yarn. Stumbling Block number one. I tried to follow what her guest Sarah said. On the yarn available here... I couldn't find any indication as to their weight. I bought the only yarn available anyway and hope that will work. I am totally feeling Karen's issues with finding yarn here in Manila.

Stumbling block number two. My crochet hook. I pretty much took the sales person's recommendation on which hook to get based on the yarn I bought. It turned out to be too small. I can't even make a decent chain stitch with it. So I decided to get the biggest hook they have which they are calling a size 'Number 1'. Whatever. But it does work with the yarn I bought so all good now. 

Stumbling block number 3. How do I hold the yarn to keep it in place and to get the correct tension??? I tried Rachel's method but it keeps slipping. My sister crochets and she showed me how she does it. She told me it gets easier with practice. I hope she's right. 

In spite of all my issues... I WILL DO THIS! And I will have 12 inches of this cowl done before Friday ends in my time zone!!! 

- take deep breaths - 

Ok, let's look at how to do those chain stitches again.

Creating Success Around the World with Deepthi of My Art

Welcome to 

Creating Success Around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the world.

Click here to learn more.

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Today I have the pleasure if introducing you to Deepthi from My Art. Deepthi is another lovely lady from India and one of the many talented ladies who linked up to our blog hop a couple of months ago.

[Janelle]: Welcome to our weekly blog hop Deepthi. I am so happy to have you here today. Please tell us something about yourself.
[Deepthi]: Hi! I am Deepthi, wife to a wonderful hubby who makes me laugh through out the day and mother to a smart and cute kid of 7 years.

Since my hubby is in a transferable job, we hop from one city to other every 2 to 3 years. Currently we live in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh in India.

We've already had quite a few guests from India but it is always interesting to hear what they have to say about your country. What can you tell us about India?
My country India is very beautiful and vibrant with rich culture, heritage and a history dating back to more than 5000 years. Every state in India has its own language, distinct art, culture, food, habits, music and even a different way of dressing. We have more Gods than we can count!!!! So I can proudly say that our country has Unity in Diversity!!

Your country does sound more and more interesting the more talented people I get to meet from there through this blog hop. Let's talk about you and your talent. I've been visiting your blog a lot in preparation for this interview and your work is beautiful! Can you tell our readers what kind of things you like to make?
I like all kinds of art and craft, my favorite being drawing, painting, working with M-seal and currently paper quilling. Though I am relatively new to quilling, I simply love it. I love recycling, especially paper. Also I like to stitch (I don’t know stitching), repurposing, redecorating, candle making, and all kinds of paper crafts.

I love your drawings and I wish I can post them all here! Your paper quill projects are cute too and I never would have guessed you're new to it.
Actually I did not know that I could draw until I finished my 10th standard! My mom forced me to draw everyday and that’s how I came to know that drawing was fun and my passion for drawing started! All thanks goes to mom, and my hubby who constantly encourage me.

 
They must be so proud of you! I saw your post about your mom's work. It looks like creativity runs in your family. What inspires your work?
Everything is an inspiration. Nature, my daughter and of course…The Blogosphere!! (Janelle: I agree!) This blog world has provided me with so many ideas whenever my brain  has stopped giving me new ideas! I feel we are the luckiest people! Internet has provided us the opportunity of learning so many things from others and share what we have learned too.

The things you make, do you sell them?
No I do not sell anything. But I have a dream of owning my own store. I am waiting for that perfect opportunity and time. As of now I do gift my creations to my friends and family.

I hope you finally get the opportunity to open your own store soon so you can share your talent with more people. After all the projects you have completed, can you share with us some mistakes you have made and what lessons you have learned from them?
Oh! I have made a lot of mistakes! I have so many unfinished drawings, paintings and crafting projects. I don’t say that I have not repeated my mistakes ;) but I have learnt a lot from my mistakes. Also I had thought that people are only interested in drawing and such stuff. Only when I saw what other people were posting on their blog did I started to post my other crafting projects on my blog.

At this point, can you already say that you have alreayd achieved success in your crafting and drawing?
I am a looooong way away from achieving success!! Success to me is self satisfaction. I am planning of doing Fine Arts from this year and currently am learning web designing.

I am sure you will do very well in both! So what can we look forward to in your blog? Do you have any new plans?
I have lots of plans for my blog in future. I am trying paper mache and more recycling projects and paper jewellery. Also I have planned to post about Kinnala Art which is the ancient and traditional art of Vijayanagara Empire and you were so kind to interview me, so I am sending you a sneak peak of how it looks like.

That is so beautiful! So much intricate detail! I am so honored that you gave us a preview of your new project here. And thank you so much for accepting my invitation for this interview Deepthi. We all loved getting to know you more today!

-oo0oo-

If you want to see more of Deepthi's work, you can visit her at My Art. 

Be sure to check out the other interviews from my co-hosts:

Australasia - Jill @ Creating My Way to Success

Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble 

The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

South America - Dolly of Marya Mariah
Asia - Me! :)

And now, it's your turn! Join our blog hop by linking your blog to our link party below! After linking, make sure you visit a few other links because that's what this hop is all about :)

Do you want your to be interviewed and featured here? If I see your link below, you just might be! I am always looking for talented bloggers from Asia for my next interview feature. I'm sure my other co-hosts are too. Leave your link and hope to meet you soon!

Friday Photos - Siling

November 1, 2007... thanks to budget flights, my husband and I were able to travel to his home town in General Santos City in Mindanao. And like most Filipinos, November 1 found us in the cemetery where some of his relatives were laid to rest, including this sister, who died when she was only 5 years old.

Every year, on November 1, Filipinos celebrate All Saint's Day, and it has been our tradition to go to our loved ones final resting places to light candles, offer prayers and reunite with other living family members who also visit. It might sound solemn and sombre and in some ways it is, but All Saint's Day is almost like a festival here. Some people, especially in provinces, spend their entire day at the cemetery, playing games, having a picnic, telling stories... it's like one big reunion party. 

So 2007, we spent the day at the cemetery in General Santos City and during the day, family and friends stopped by their mausoleum to say hi. One of them was this man. He is an old friend of his family. He used to play with my husband's mom and her siblings when they were kids. And while my husband's mom went on to live a comfortable life, his life had been more difficult as can be seen on the weathered lines on his face. The family has not seen him for a while so they spent the afternoon catching up.

My husband caught this image of him during a lull in the conversation. He says he remembers my husband as a little boy. We showed him the photo and he said he looks older in the photo.

And we have a winner!

I am so sorry for the late announcement. I was stuck in meetings from 10AM until 2:30PM this afternoon. Seriously... I only had a short break for lunch. Whew! Now that that's done... you excited? :)

So we had 12 comments in all... and according to random.org, the winner for this draw is:

And comment number 1 belongs to Dianne of Dianne Writes who left this comment:

 

Congratulations Dianne! I will be sending you an email shortly to confirm your winning and to give you instructions on how you can claim your prize.

To all those who joined my first giveaway, THANK YOU SO MUCH! :) I hope to have another giveaway soon (already working on it) so stay tuned!

Creating Success Around the World with Lakshmi of Adithi's Amma Sews

Welcome to 

Creating Success Around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the world.

Click here to learn more.

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Today I am introducing you to Lakshmi of Adithi's Amma Sews. Adithi will be showing us her creativity from the beautiful country of India.

[Janelle] Welcome to our weekly blog hop Lakshmi! Please tell us something about yourself and a little bit about where you're from.

[Lakshmi] I am Lakshmi, alias Adithi’s Amma for those who know my blog Adithis Amma Sews. Adithi is my Daughter’s name and ‘Amma’ means mother in Tamil and I am her mom who sews! I am from India and live in Chennai, a metropolitan city and the capital of South Indian State Tamil Nadu.

 
I am SAHM mother of 4.5 year old little princess ‘Adithi’, a freelance fashion designer and an ex s/w engineer who quit after child birth and discovered her true passion – Sewing  and Pattern Making. I did a 6 months course on pattern making and there has been no looking back! I am here and this is where I belong!

From being a fashion nerd to someone who has enviable fashion sense now, it’s been an interesting sojourn!

Tell us what kind of sewing projects you like working on most.

Dresses and more dresses to fill the wardrobe of my darling daughter, dear sister, MIL, mother, hubby and self! 

I also dabble in paper crafts and drawing with my daughter who loves creating a mess! 

Dresses made by me range from Traditional Indian Clothing like Saree Blouses, Silk Skirt and Blouse, Salwar Kameez to Indo Western outfits like Tunic Kameez, to western outfits like Tops, Ballgowns, skirts to name a few. I have loads of tutorials (with emphasis on Indian outfits and also other indo-western and western clothing!) already on board, please do check them out!

I've been to your site and you do have a lot of detailed tutorials. I am learning a lot! Your sewing and pattern making classes definitely paid off. What inspires your creations?

Inspiration could be anything, something I just saw, it could be a flower, flowing water, my daughter’s smile, a cobweb! Anything that urges me to think of it as part of a dress or the look and feel of the dress! My project dress (during pattern making course) was born out of an idea to do eco-friendly recycled outfit – guess what I made an outfit using the advertisement pamphlets sent along with daily newspaper! I collected them for 2 months and made those Japanese fans for about a month and then assembled the dress in about 15 days!

People's creativity always amazes me. Your project is beautiful, well worth all the hours you put into it. For the other dresses that you make, do you sell them? 

I have recently starting selling kids dresses under the label Adithi’s Couture. The idea is to make custom made outfits for tiny tots!

Being a mother myself, I can relate to the comfort zones sought by a child and the likes and dislikes of a pampered little princess! Currently it is an Online Couture Boutique, in future plan to have a boutique in my place!

How is this venture going?
Well I can’t say much as of now, as I have had only few sales so far, but as and when business expands, then I can work upon the logistics! As of now, I view this as a medium to satisfy my creative desires and chance to emulate my vision into real life outfits! Since my DD’s wardrobe is already full and brimming, this gives me an opportunity to dress up few more lovely daughters of proud mothers out there!

I can see you're already on your way to having that boutique, being a talented seamstress and all.  Can you share with us some lessons you have learned in your sewing?
Every day there is something new to learn, initially sewing was the part wherein I was learning a lot, now with practice sewing is far more easier and professional. I am learning new things about pattern making every day as I envision a new idea for the dress! Mistakes made are so many to be listed out, the most common being placing RS to WS of fabric (well it does happen with some tricky fabrics!), lesson learnt is spend more time on placing pattern and cutting and make sure it is alright before you get on with sewing, coz you all know ripping up the seam is the most painful process for a sewist!

I make that mistake a lot too! It's so inspiring to know that someone as talented as you makes the same mistakes we do. Since this blog hop is all about creating success... can you tell us what success means to you?
Success as a dress designer to me is to see a satisfied customer flaunting your design! I can say I have as my most strong critic (my sister) has come about to compliment the dress I made for her! That gave me more confidence! As they say success or failure is not here to stay, they keep moving, so you have to keep moving as well!

Well said! So do you have any other future plans?
Currently having a Sew Skirt September as a month long celebration of skirts, where, starting my basic skirt we are delving deep into deconstructing as many styles as possible!

Plan to add more such monthly celebrations/weekly celebrations on my blog, highlighting a particular style of outfit, sewing or the works, to keep my readers interested and help them gain more information on the related topic.

Also plan to launch Couture line for Women in near future!

It looks like we have lot to look forward to at Adithi's Amma Sews! Thank you so much again for visiting us today Lakshmi!

-oo0oo-

If you want to see more of Lakshmi's work, you can visit her at Adithi's Amma Sews. 

Be sure to check out the other interviews from my co-hosts:

Australasia - Jill @ Creating My Way to Success

Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble 

The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

South America - Dolly of Marya Mariah
Asia - Me! :)

And make sure you give a warm welcome to our new host for South America, Dolly of Marya Mariah! If you need help translating her interview to English or another language, you can use Google Translate.

And now, it's your turn! Join our blog hop by linking your blog to our link party below! After linking, make sure you visit a few other links because that's what this hop is all about :)

Do you want your to be interviewed and featured here? If I see your link below, you just might be! I am always looking for talented bloggers from Asia for my next interview feature. Leave your link and hope to meet you soon!

Last call for the My Memories Suite giveaway

--GIVE-AWAY CLOSED--

Hey guys, if you haven't joined my giveaway yet, you still have a few hours to do so :)

I will be drawing the winner tomorrow at 10AM my time (here in the Philippines, GMT +8) so the giveaway contest will remain open until then. I have a meeting between 10AM - 12NN tomorrow though, so I will be announcing the winner after that. 

To those who already joined, you can increase the chances of winning by earning additional entries. Check out how here. Please leave a separate comment for every additional entry condition.

Let's find out who wins tomorrow! :)

Friday Photos - Peacock Pride

Since I started using the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software, I've had to go through a lot of our old photos. I am rediscovering a lot of nice photos we took after I last did my compilation for my original photo book project in 2009. 

This one was taken just last summer:

Peacocks are being used as symbols for vanity. How can you not be vain when you are that beautiful?

This is one of the peacocks at the Villa Alfredo Resort in Pampanga. The pools and the villas and cottages are already showing signs of wear. But the gardens surrounding the pools are still beautiful, and they have a mini-aquarium and aviary. The only thing I loved about that resort was the aviary.

Aside from this peacock, they also have gorgeous white peacocks. But alas, he (only male peacocks have beautiful feathers like this right?) didn't feel like showing off the entire time we were there. Here he is:

Snubbing all of us gawkers :) Not the best photo but that was the best one I have of him.

It's Friday everyone! I am looking forward to some rest this weekend. It's been a little busy at work. Hope you all enjoy the weekend!

 By the way, have you joined my giveaway yet?

A $40 value! Join now!

Ruffled Bib Toddler Shirt

My mom gave me this top last week. It's pretty but the neckline, which was already wide to begin with, was stretched more in the wash rendering it useless.

I love the ruffle detail on the sleeves so I decided to save them.

I cut off the sleeves. I was so tempted to embellish one of them with pearls to make an easy bib necklace for me but my mom specifically asked that these be made into something for her grand daughters (i.e. my daughter, Andrea, and my niece, Helaena).

I made a smaller shirt (size 4T) from the shirt fabric. I wanted to make this quick so instead of making sleeves, I simply traced the entire 4T shirt we already have, including the sleeves. I then sewed the back and front pieces together and hemmed the bottom of the shirt and the sleeves. I then hand stitched the ruffled sleeves on to the shirt and pulled and folded edges to make it look like a bib.

This one is for my niece. We're giving it to her this weekend. But I got Andrea to model it first. I just can't get her to stay still for any photo lately! Anyway, for Andrea's shirt... I'm planning to sew the ruffled sleeve directly on to one of her plain shirts to save me time. I haven't gotten around to doing it yet though.

I am linking to the following parties:

Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar and Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesdat at Someday Crafts | Show and Share at Southern Lovely | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Strut Your Stuff at Keeping it Simple | Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma | It's a Party at The Creative Princess | Catch a Glimpse at A Glimpse Inside | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | DIY Diva at Mine for the Making | 

Giveaway: My Memories Suite

-- GIVEAWAY CLOSED --

My Memories Suite is a top-rated digital scrapbooking software that allows you to make digital albums, photo books, cards, invitations, calendars, movies and a lot more! It's so much fun and easy to use. This is what I used to make my story photo book that I posted here and here.

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After using this software for a few day, here's what I can say about it.

INSTALLATION - After purchase, you can download the installer for My Memories Suite from the link that My Memories will provide you. Running the online installer will require you to download around 500MB worth of components though. If you are not using a high speed internet connection, this might take a while. However, if you are in the US, you have the option to get a CD installer from My Memories which has all the system components already so you don't have to go through the download stage. You have to add $4.97 plus shipping if you ask for the CD but I suggest this option. I'm not in the US... so I had to download. After the download stage, the software installed easily.

EASE OF USE - Very easy to use! My Memories Suite can be used on a PC or a Mac. It runs pretty fast on my home laptop. The software comes pre-loaded with the components (e.g. backgrounds, embellishments) you need to make digital projects so you can start right away. Everything I used on my story photobook projects are just the built in components. For the text, this software uses any existing fonts you already have on your machine. So you can integrate your favorite fonts to your projects. If you want more options, My Memories offer digital scrapbooking kits and templates at their website at very affordable prices (from $0.99 to around $9 per set). And they have a lot of free stuff too! Do check it out. These can be downloaded from a link that will be provided to you after check out.

This scrapbook software is great for both beginners AND more advanced users. For beginners, My Memories Suite has built in pre-designed photo album templates where you can select the template you want, and simply insert your photos in the photo slots on the templates. Ta-dah! You're done. Here are some examples of their pre-designed templates.

 

More advanced users can start with a blank page and choose each component that goes into a page. One look at the user interface and you know which buttons to click to find the stuff you want, see?

You can select a page format (or start from blank), add backgrounds, text, shapes and other embellishments from the menu on the right side of the page. The pages I made for my story photobook are all built from scratch. I'm having too much fun trying out different combinations of page elements to see how they would look :)

Not into scrapbooking? Here are a few other projects you can make with My Memories Suite:

How about a blog button?

You can customize by adding your images or graphics.

Or a blog header!

I can feel a blog redesign project coming soon! We'll see :)

Or cards! (e.g. Christmas cards, invitations, birth announcements

Christmas with grandma and grandpa

You can make printables too.

NOTE: All rights for this printable, including the text, belongs to me. If you plan to use any part of this, please give me due credit. Thanks!

And a whole lot of other projects!

-oo0oo- 

 

The BEST part? 

My Memories has offered to give away one My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software to one of you! This is a $40 value!

To join the giveaway:

• Become a follower of Of Pinks and Fairy Tales. This giveaway is open to anyone with an internet connection :) Just click that the 'Join this site' button located on my right side bar. 

• Visit My Memories and check out their digital scrapbooking kits and templates.

• Leave me a comment below telling me which of their scrapbooking kits/elements you like best. Please include your email address (emailid at emailprovider dot com - use this format please) so I will know how to contact you if you win.

For example:
My favorite is the Pizza Pie Pack (because I'm thinking of giving Andrea a pizza-themed birthday party this year). My email address is ofpinksandfairytales at gmail dot com.

You have to follow ALL 3 steps first to qualify for the giveaway. Only comments posted on this post qualifies as an entry.

For additional entries, you can also:

1. Follow My Memories Blog and leave another comment here telling me you did so = 1 additional entry

2. Like My Memories Suite on Facebook and leave another comment here. Please include the name you are using on Facebook so we can validate. = 1 additional entry

3. Follow My Memories Suite on Twitter and leave another comment here to tell me you did. Please include the name you are using on Twitter so we can validate = 1 additional entry

Please remember to leave a separate comment for each additional entry.

Winner will be drawn on  September 14, 2011 at 10AM my time (GMT +8) via random.org. I will contact the winner via email (so make sure you leave your email address on your comment!) after the draw. The winner has 1 week (7 calendar days) to reply to me to acknowledge that he/she is accepting. If I don't hear from the winner within one week, I will draw another winner.

If you want to buy the software now, you can get it at a discounted price. My Memories is giving a $10 discount on their My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software to readers of Of Pinks and Fairy Tales! If you buy now, you only pay $29.97. Simply enter this code upon check out to avail of the discount:

STMMMS46091
Please copy and paste the code to make sure you enter the correct value.

Ok then, time for you to join the giveaway! :)