Robot Zoo

A few weeks ago, my mom treated her grandkids (ok... and us of course!) with a trip to the Robot Zoo at the SM Mall of Asia.

Elements from Beep da Beep Add-on kit by Pschozoe Design, Template by Pretty in Green Designs

I will have to admit though... it wasn't that interesting for me. And I think the girls were both a little too young to appreciate it too. Though they had fun at some of the activities inside. I think this exhibit will appear more to little boys ages 5-10 maybe.

I made this layout for Gingerscraps Template Challenge for September 1-15, 2012... but I forgot to submit it on time so it doesn't really count for the challenge :(

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 4

And I made it to Week 4!!!!

Even if I don't win, I already exceeded my expectations for this competition. I honestly never expected to get this far. And as I mentioned in my last post about this contest, I already learned a lot from the tips we are getting all throughout the competition.

For this last week of the competition, we were asked to work on theStudio's September Mega Kit - Old School.

We were asked to create 2 layouts using the kit, using elements from at least 5 of the contributing designers.

Here are my layouts:

Elements used are from the following designers:

- Aimee Harrison
- Digilicious Designs
- Linda Cumberland Designs
- Mad Genius Designs
- Sweetmade Inc
- Nibbles Skribbles
- Amber Shaw
- The Urban Fairy
- Piggyscraps
- ADB Designs
- JanetB Designs
- Scrappy Cocoa

Using elements from the following designers:

- Digilicious Designs
- The Urban Fairy
- Scrappy Cocoa
- Amber Shaw
- JanetB Designs
- Sweetmade Inc
- ADB Designs
- SnickerdoodleDesigns
- Piggyscraps
- JanetB Designs
- Linda Cumberland
- Nibbles Skribbles

I'm not sure when the winners will be announced but I will not lose sleep over it. I'm already very happy at getting this far and I can't wait for next year's competition!

Soapnuts!

I first read about them from Agy's blog post in Green Issues Singapore back in June. I was intrigued. Using nuts as an alternative to soap... tell me if that doesn't intrigue you! But apparently, there is one kind of nut that you can use.

Anyway, I was so happy when I found out that Agy is giving away samples and that the giveaway was open to residents outside Singapore! And I was so excited when I found out I won! I couldn't wait to try my soap nuts.

But apparently... wait I did. And waited... and waited... and waited. Agy sent the soap nuts to me after her giveaway ended around the end of July. But I guess weather conditions and some serious flooding around August slowed the delivery process. I finally got the notice from the post office that my package is waiting to be claimed around the first week of September! And last Monday...

...my soap nuts! :)

I can't wait to try them! And Agy has new posts on how to make better use of the soap nuts in her post here.

Thank you so much again Agy!

Leaving a Trail

Or stumbling all over the trail, it felt like.

Elements from Backwoods kit by Sunny Day Scraps, Template by Scrapping with Liz

These photos were from the mountain climb to get to the top of the mountain where the launch platform was located for my first zipline scare ride.

I used the kit Backwoods from Sunny Day Scraps for this layout.

This cute kit would have been perfect for camping photos but alas! I don't camp... I used to, like pre-digital camera era, but not anymore. I love the cute elements and subdued nature colors of this kit.

Available at Berry Sweet Scraps.

Play

Another photo from our weekend get-away to celebrate my stepfather's birthday a couple of weeks ago:

Elements from: Jardim de Joaninha kit by Cinara Castillo

I made this layout for Digidesignresort's Photo Challenge for September 2012. The challenge is to create a wordart using a photo. For this layout, I put my title in the middle of the photo, cut it out, and then stroked the edges red.

I checked my list and I still have 12 challenge layouts I want to complete before the end of September. I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!! 

Have a great weekend! :)

"Floating" Lessons

We went on a short vacation last weekend to celebrate my stepfather's birthday. The hotel we stayed in had a pool so I decided to give Andrea um... "swimming" lessons. I can't really call it a proper swimming lesson because all she ever wanted to do was float and walk around the pool.

Elements from: Ma Bretagne kit by Mariscrap, Ma Bretagne - Borders by Mariscrap

Notice her face... that's the Terrible 2's Syndrome in action. Don't let the face fool you, she had fun. I'm sure she did.

You can now get the Ma Bretagne kit and it's derivatives from the following stores:

Scrap from France

Digidesignresort

Angelscrap Shop

Old Fashioned Swimsuit

Here is another layout using an old photo of my grandmother:

Elements from: Ma Bretagne - Clusters by Mariscrap, Ma Bretagne - Stacked Papers by Tigroune and Mariscrap, Ma Bretagne - Masks by Mariscrap

When I first saw this photo, I told my mom how so unlike my conservative grandmother to wear a skimpy dress. And then my mom told me this was not a dress but a swimsuit. I'm actually seeing this trend making a comeback, with swimsuits that look like mini-dresses (i.e. with skirts) being sold at the malls.

I used derivatives of Mariscrap's Ma Bretagne kit for this layout. You can now get the kit Ma Bretagne and it's derivatives from the following stores:

Scrap From France

Digidesignresort

Angelscrap Shop

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 3

Round 3!!! I made it to Round 3!!! :) Last week, the host requested us to vote for others other than ourselves, haha. Though it was a request and not really a rule, I tried to comply. And the last time I checked the status of the voting, it didn't look too encouraging for me. Imagine my surprise when I checked my email on Sunday and saw the notification that I made it to Round 3!!

I don't have any delusions of actually winning. There are still a lot of us in the competition and there are some really, really... and I do mean REALLY talented ladies there. Seeing the layouts they have been submitting, it makes me think that I will never be able to come up with a layout composition like that by myself. 

But being in this competition for 3 weeks already taught me a lot about being a good Creative Team member and how layouts are supposed to promote the kit as much as possible. And in this competition, since I know I'm being judged, I do try my best to showcase as much of the kit in one layout. This has helped me with my other CT work because I have been guilty of overly simple layouts in the past. I have layouts where I use too few elements and papers and though I may have achieved the look I wanted, it doesn't really do much to promote the kit. Lesson learned and applied :)

I have learned a lot from the other participants too. Particularly about clustering and the use of shadows. I still have a lot to learn about clustering (I think being an engineer is working against me in this... I am putting too much importance on symmetry!!) but I think my shadowing has improved.

Anyway, here is my layout for Week 3:

Elements from Indian Summer collaboration kit by Carin Grobe Designs and JanetB Designs

We were given the kit Indian Summer, by Carin Grobe Designs and JanetB Designs. The colors make it perfect for an autumn layout... but since I live in a country without an autumn season, I had to use some other photo that would go well with it. I chose this old family photo from my grandmother's album.

The other rules for this challenge had me stumped for a few days. We were supposed to use at least 4 papers... and remember what I said about overly simple layouts? This is one of my weaknesses, using more than one paper. 

Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that I make it to Week 4 :) You can check out the other layouts submitted for this week here so you will understand what I'm up against and why I need to keep my fingers crossed. 

Little Girls on Vacation

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a resort with my family to celebrate my stepfather's birthday.

The journalling in the layout says it all :)

Elements from: FB Fan Freebie by Blagovesta, Template by Silke of Papier Studio

I made this layout for Digidesignresort's Template Challenge for September.

New kit by Sunny Day Scraps: School Zone

Check out this adorable school themed kit! It's perfect to scrap all of those precious pictures you have of that first day of school or any photo of school activities (of which my daughter has plenty).

This kit comes with 17 papers (300 dpi, JPEG) and 45 elements (300 dpi, PNG).

You can get this kit here:

Berry Sweet Scraps

Scrap Bird

Here are a couple of layouts I made with this kit:

She initially wanted a trolley bag for school so we got her one of that. But even the smallest trolley bag available was too big for what little she needs to bring to school but she loves it anyway.

And then, she realized that all her classmates have backpacks and lunch boxes and started asking mommy for a backpack and a lunch box *groan*. Why are they so fickle??? So backpack and lunch box it is... and her trolley bag has been designated as her luggage when we travel :)

I only did layouts for A and B and I know I should have made one for C to make it, you know... like A, B, C... but I still don't know what C should stand for that's school related. Let me think about this for a while...

New kit from Mariscrap: Ma Bretagne

Image is linked to store.

This kit was inspired by the beaches on the French West Coast, particularly Bretagne. The elements were extracted from personal photos of Noiremoutier and watercolor paintings painted by the Mari's own mother :)

This kit includes 21 papers (3600x3600, 300DPI, JPEG) and 100 elements (PNG, 300DPI).

Don't forget to check out the other derivatives of this kit, or you can get the bundle at a special price!

Image is linked to store.

Image is linked to store.

Image is linked to store.

Image is linked to store.

Image is linked to store.

Image is linked to store.

Here are a couple of pages I made for this kit:

And now, your freebie!!!! Like Mariscrap's Facebook page to get it!!!!

Image is linked to Facebook fan page.

A Day of Smiles

The product of my hard work of logging in everyday last month to download daily download kits:

Elements from: Happiness in Your Smile kit by Kathy Winters, Triangle Addict Template by Akizo

I used the template I got from last month's Daily Download over at Gingerscraps for this layout.

I wonder when Andrea will learn how to smile um... uh... smaller :)

I made this layout for Gingerscraps Daily Download Challenge for September 2012.

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Good Times

As part of my vintage layouts kick this month:

Elements from: Vintage Chic mini kit by butterflyDsign, Scraplifted from layout by Kathryn

That's my mom playing with her brothers by the fish pond. It's one of the things I love about my grandparents' house when I have a kid. Instead of the usual aquarium... they have a small fish pond in their garden. Though this pond in the photo is not the pond I grew up with... this area now is wher my grandmother's garden is and they moved the pond nearer the front door. 

I used to "catch" fish there to "cook" when I was a child and playing house with my neighborhood playmates.

I made this layout for Scrappity-Doo-Dah's Scraplift Challenge for September 1-15, 2012.

This Flower

The Lyrical Challenge over at Scrapping Fairytales for September is to scrap a layout using this song or parts of this song by Kasey Chambers as journalling.

This Flower

Well this flower is my soul
But it's not half of what I owe
I should give you every rose that I ever grew
But take this one here for a start
And you can keep it in your heart
I have everything I need because of you

Well if my life was long enough
to pack up everything I love
I would do just that and give it all to you
But it's impossible to pay
All the things that you gave away
So this flower I give will have to do

All the flowers growing wild
For ten thousand lonely miles
It's not near enough to give you what I should
So I will owe you for a while
Maybe longer than my time
I would give you all the world if I could

According to Lynette, the challenge's host, Kasey is a country singer from Australia.

Here is my layout for this challenge:

Elements from Romantic Spring collab kit from Digital Crea, Font is CK Legacy

 So I finished this layout late last night... like around 1AM. When I woke up this morning... I had a realization. I should have used a photo of my mom instead. It fits the lyrics more. LOL. With that in mind, I really need to scan my mom's photo albums soon *sigh*.

Hello there!

I think I'm getting a little behind on my challenge layouts. I'm a little busy at work, and I prioritize my CT layouts because those have deadlines. Anyway, here is a layout I did for the Scrappity-Doo-Dah Template Challenge for September 1-15.

Elements from: Beautiful Elegance by Lisette, Template by 3Lil Monsters.

When I saw the template... I wanted to make it look like the photos were peeking into the layout. But I couldn't find photos that look like any of my girls are peeking... I only found this one that kinda look like it.

Coming Soon

That is the title of the layout. But before I show it to you... let me clarify something first...

I am NOT pregnant ;) Right now I'm feeling that one Andrea is enough.

Anyway, this was taken last 2009 when I was pregnant with Andrea.

I had the ultrasound at the mall because it was the last day of a big sale and I wanted to start buying baby stuff so I needed to know if I was having a girl or a boy ;)

I used Neia Arantes Design's Baby Girl kit for this layout.

Available at Scrappity-Doo-Dah.

New kit from Crystal'z Colorz: Color Splash - Autumn

As I posted in my Facebook page last week... I live in a country where we have no Autumn... but I love Fall colors anyway. And with my skin tone... browns and earth tones look good on me ;) 

But I digress... 

Do you love warm late Summer and Autumn kits but want a bit more color? This kit, Color Splash - Autumn, is the kit for you. Done in beautiful oranges and burgundy's with a bit of aquas and lime greens, busting with color and warm bountiful elements and great papers.

Visit the Scrappity-Doo-Dah store now.

Here is a sample layout I made with this kit:

theStudio Layout Artist Competition 2012 - Week 2

I made it to Round 2!!! There were a LOT of really great layouts for Round 1 and it was so hard to NOT keep refreshing the voting page to see if I was about to get eliminated. LOL. I had to leave the forum and not think about the voting until Saturday night my time when I knew the results would be announced. And come Saturday night, I was out of time with my family and the wifi at the hotel we were staying at was super super slow! Aaarrggghhh!!! I was able to check Sunday and I wanted to dance all the way to Manila when I found out.

Anyway, for Week 2, the challenge is to create a layout using one of Aimee Harrison's templates from her Vol 1: Opposites Attract template pack and a kit submitted for the Next Designer Contest.

Here is my entry for Week 2:

Elements from: Under the Moon kit by Keep in Touch Designs

For this layout, I used the kit designed by Keep in Touch Designs for Week 1 of the designer competition, Under the Moon.

And am I so glad my husband loves taking photos of Andrea when she's asleep, looking so peaceful and angelic... when in truth she is rarely peaceful and angelic these days. The "Terrible 2's" concept is so true and it's hitting our household full force. I wonder how other mom's manage to have more than one kid and survive with their sanity intact. I swear, I am just so tired and I feel like screaming myself most time times. 

Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that I make it to Week 3 :)

A Cold December Morning

I've been digging up vintage photos for my layouts this month and my sister screamed her protest when she found out I was using her photo. She said she can't believe she falls under "vintage" already (i.e. she turns 30 this year... and ok, ok... maybe she's not "vintage").

Elements from: Spring Antique Add-on by Dana's Footprint Digital Design

That's her and our cousin... um... ah... 28 years ago maybe? :) To be fair, I told her I'd scan my baby photos too for my layouts this month. Only I don't have time to scan... and maybe she can do it for me *crossing fingers*

I made this layout for Scrappity-Doo-Dah's Birdcage Challenge for September 1-15, 2012 and this is the mini-kit we were given to work with.

New Products, Sales and Freebies from Scrap From France!

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The Passage of Time

I was just blogging last week about some of the kits I like over at Scrappity-Doo-Dah when I saw on the CT forum that Angel's Designs was actually looking for more layouts for the one I like: Vintage Memories. 

Available here.

I downloaded it and made a layout using more of our vintage photos:

The photo on the left, you've probably already seen on my other layouts. I must have used it like 4 times already. I just love the super vintage look, including the crumbling cardboard frame which came with the photo. The other one is a photo of the same person, my great grandmother, several years after. It was taken in 1972.

And what do you know? I got "Layout of the Day" for this layout! :)

 

Exciting news! ...For me actually, and SALE announcements for you :)

Ehem... Notice something new on my right panel? What??? No? Aaaawww :( There's something new blinkety-blinking over there to announce that...

I am now a Sparrow over at Scrappity-Doo-Dah :)

I thought long and hard about applying to the store's CT call last month... I really, REALLY wanted to, but I was thinking about my schedule and the amount of available time I have. And then I realized, what was I stressing about? I am at Scrappity-Doo-Dah a lot anyway. I have actually been violating my No-Internet-on-Weekend-Rule for a few months now because I always need to peek at the forums and galleries and store just to see what's new. So who needs more rules anyway? I applied. And I was literally bouncing on my seat when I got accepted.

This is the first time I will CT for a store and I don't really know how different it will be from my usual CT work but I am SO excited to start! I'm still waiting for my assignment.

So while waiting, I decided to browse the store and I saw that they have some new designers opening their stores there this September... and they have opening sales :) Let me share the results of my window-shopping/sale-hunting:

-oo0oo-

I was checking lisetescrap's designs and I think I'm loving dark colors lately. Here are some of my favorites from her store:

You can also check out Lisete's blog. She posts free mini kits from of her new kits.

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Here are some of my favorite kits from Angels Designs store:

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I'm still on a dark-colors mood, and I love these kits from Kaymee Designs:

I'm loving that typewriter element!

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I saw this cute boy kit over at Carole's Creations:

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Aaarrggh... wait, I have to do errands. Will be back with more of my online shopping adventures later!