6 Years...

... of marriage and this is what I get...

Elements from Autumn Fire by Sekada Designs; Template by Dagi's Temp-tations

Me thinks I got a good deal ;)

NOTE: I made this layout for Digidesignresort's Photo Challenge for October 2012 where we were asked to scrap a special photo. Nothing more special than the 2 most special people in my life :)

Bracelets for Mom

And I had time to make bracelets for my mom...


And I need to make the necklaces she will be giving away as gifts for Christmas too...

Someone find me some time please.

I will be back soon with the necklaces.

Oh who am I kidding? Scratch that... I will probably be able to post the necklaces in December.

Party! Party! Simple Party Projects

Well this post is a month late. 

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we celebrated Andrea's birthday party at her school. It was a few weeks earlier than the date of her birthday because her birthday falls on their school break for October. We only had a week to prepare. I never realized the last day the school will allow a birthday party in class was the first week of October. 

Anyway, I had to come up with a party theme that will not require a lot of work. Right now, Andrea likes Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Disney Princesses and Tinkerbell. The theme has to work for both girls and boys so I decided to go with Jake and the Neverland Pirates because I remember they have a lot of downloadable party projects at the Disney Junior Asia website. 

You can visit the website here to check out available projects. 

I didn't like the invitations available so I made one using the character images I was able to get online, some digiscrapping elements, and then printed it on brown paper. Daddy insisted on singed edges to make them look authentic *rolls eyes*. 

I rolled the invites and tied them with a small rope. 

 

We made the treasure box. My husband did all the cutting and pasting, and he was even meticulous enough to line the inside of the box with violet paper.

We also made the sword and the rainbow wand to give to the kids as party favors but I wasn't able to take photos of them.

We enlarged the toy set, printed them on cardstock, and then with some marshmallows and  chocolate rock candies, used them to decorate the plain chocolate cake we bought. 

One more fete by daddy... he made pirate balloons ;) 

Yep, he made 10 of these for all of Andrea's classmates.

If you plan to use the same projects from Jake and Neverland Pirates on Disney Junior Asia, let me warn you that it wasn't as simple as I initially thought. It involves lot of intricate cutting and folding and I was lucky hubby was patient enough to do all that.

And in conclusion... I survived my first toddler party!! YEY! :)

Always Missing You

And for the other little girl who should have celebrated her birthday too...

Elements from Juste Un Au Revoir collab kit by Doudou's Designs and MCreations, Scraplifted from layout by blondy

Take My Picture!

My daughter already had her birthday party at school weeks before her actual birthday. On the day of her actual 3rd birthday, I have to admit, I didn't really make any plans. My in-laws were visiting so I was thinking more of where we can take them, what they wanted to do for the day, etc. You see, my mother-in-law once lost a 3-year-old little girl (my husband's youngest sister) to illness a long time ago. My daughter and that aunt she never met share the same birthday, and I know that my mother-in-law celebrates her lost daughter's birthday every single year with a small party for the family.

That is, every year except this year. 

This year, they came to visit us and to celebrate Andrea's birthday instead. 

When I woke up that morning, I realized Andrea needed a cake with a candle. She loves blowing candles, and though she is rarely successful, she always has a lot of fun in the process. So I went to a nearby grocery and bought a small cake and a birthday banner. The only design available for the banner was Spongebob so that became my impromptu theme for that morning's birthday celebration. 

I made it back home before Andrea woke up. I took one of her Spongebob toys, washed it, plopped it in the cake along with the candle she used on her birthday party and ta-dah! We have a birthday cake :)

I love how the Spongebob toy looks like he's blowing the candle too :) And he might have done a better job at it than Andrea because after several tries, that candle was still lighted.

We need to practice blowing candles for next year's birthday.

We went to Resorts World for lunch to celebrate more. And what do you know, another candle!

I think it was more for ambience but I let Andrea blow it out anyway. She wasn't successful on this try either ;)

Her birthday lunch... none of which she ate by the way.

So I bought her popcorn... that she liked *rolls eyes*

After lunch, my mother-in-law asked us to stop by Luneta park because she hasn't been there in years. There is a big open area near Luneta park where people fly kites so we parked nearby, bought a kite, and Andrea had her first kite-flying experience.

And for the day's coup de grace...

Elements from Memory Keeper by Connie Prince, Wordart by Kawouette

There were some photography students in the area and of them was about to take a photo of Andrea while she was running. She saw the camera pointed at her, stopped, and started smiling and posing o_0 The other students saw her and started taking her photos as well.

We might have a career in show business... hmmm..

NOTE: Layout was made for Gingerscraps' Wordart Challenge for October 2012.

Visiting

I gave a brief description of our tradition for All Saint's Day here. Cemeteries tend to get really REALLY crowded on November 1 though, so we went to visit my grandfather's resting place a week ahead.

Layout for DDR's Color Challenge for October 2012. Elements from Evangeline kit by Baby Cakes Scrap

Layout for DDR's Template Challenge for October 2012. Elements from So Sweet kit by Angels Designs. Template by Carena.

It was a little windy and it drizzled for a few minutes (hence, the big umbrella). The little girls were able to fly a kit with my husband for a while. While most families usually stay the whole day and have like a mini-reunion/picnic on November 1, we only stayed a few hours. 

Do you have any traditions for All Saints' Day/All Souls' Day/Day of the Dead? Tell us about it :)

New from Keep in Touch Designs: Pieces of Me Mini-kit

This mini-kit in sweet girly colors contains 9 papers and 18 elements. 

Available here:

Scrappity-Doo-Dah

Here is a sample layout I made with this mini:

The Sunny Side: From Mandy King and Vonnie's Digiworld

This is a huge kit, inspired by the brighter side of life. The colors inspire happiness. You can scrap many pages with the variety of elements and papers in this kit.

There is 96 elements and 30 papers, all created at 300 dpi.

Available here:

Scrappity-Doo-Dah

Here is a layout I made with this kit:

Scrapping Fairy Tales Design Quest - Week 3: Freebie!

I'm still in for week 3!

This challenge is really not an elimination contest. All entries who qualify will get a set of CU elements as our prize. And to inspire us to complete all 4 weeks of challenges, we will get bonus CU pack if we complete all 4 challenges.

The challenge for week 3 is all about stars. All elements MUST have at least one star in it. That was a challenge for me. 

Anyway, here is my entry for this week:

Download here.

You can also snag all the great minis from the other participants in the gallery so make sure you visit!

KakleiDesigns is back with a beautiful kit!

KakleiDesigns is back with this beautiful new kit!

Karen: "Going Home is a lovely mix of styles as rustic, grunge, little magic, and scenic made in beautiful teal, brown and yellow tones. This is truly a divine kit that reflects the joy of coming or finding my way back to designing after such long time and my new home in Israel, I hope you enjoy it and it makes you feel as comfortable as I am, happy and full of magical energy as I feel..."

The kit includes 10 beautiful papers in 300ppi, 12x12 inches, JPG format and 35 assorted elements made in PNG, 300ppi.

Available here:

Digidesignresort

Here is a layout I made with this kit to inspire you:

Photo was taken last weekend after we went out for lunch to celebrate my little girl's 3rd birthday. Happy birthday sweetie! :) We are through the terrible two's!!! YEY!!!

New from Mariscrap: Anastasia

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Beautiful elements in dark blues and greens. Perfect to scrap your special memories of motherhood and everyday happiness.

There are also plenty of add-ons available for this kit.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Click image to visit store.

Here are a couple of layouts I made with the elements, papers and add-ons:

New from Studio4 Designworks: Summers Ending

This kit highlights the waning days of Summer. The garden and outdoors are still full of color, but the days are growing shorter (in the northern hemisphere). Scrap your outdoor summer memories with this kit. It contains 43 elements and 18 papers - all created in high resolution - 300 dpi format. Shadows are for preview purposes only. S4Hire, S4O & Personal Use.

Available here:

theStudio

Digidesignresort

GoDigitalScrapbooking 

Here is a layout I made with this beautiful kit:

 

I am not afraid of the dark!

"Really now?", I asked her.

"Yes, because when I'm scared, I will just wake up mommy."

Riiiiiiggght! And there we have the reason why I haven't had a full night's sleep since that day in 2009 after I labored for 19 hours.

Elements from October Eve by Studio4 Designworks

I made this layout for theStudio's Less is More Challenge for October.

New kit from Mariscrap: Hallomiam

A new whimsical kit for Halloween from Mariscrap! With 100 elements and 19 papers, you will be scrapping a lot of your adorable Halloween photos.

You can also get several add-ons for this kit:

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 layouts I made with the kit and the add-ons:

We're having our first Trick or Treat for this Halloween season tomorrow! Can't wait to get more photos and do some scrapping!

100!

I was going through my usual routine of checking emails, forums and Facebook the other day when I noticed this:

I reached 100 "Likes" on Facebook!!! Really really!!! :)

For a page that doesn't really offer much except display my works and offer some freebies now and then, and something I don't really advertise, this is a really big deal for me.

To thank all my blog followers and Facebook followers, I will work on another freebie which I will release sometime in November. Watch out for it!

New Temp-tations and new kit by Partners in Crime Designs!

More templates to make your scrapping life a little bit easier! This set contains 4 cluster templates in PSD, PNG and TIFF formats.

Available here:

Scrappity-Doo-Dah

Scrap Takeout

Here is a sample layout I made using one of the cluster templates from this set:

Elements from Beautiful You kit by Partners in Crime Designs

And you get a sneak peek of Andrea's costume for Trick or Treat at my workplace tomorrow ;)

I used elements from Partners in Crime Design's latest kit, Beautiful You to make this layout. 

Available at Scrappity-Doo-Dah 

(50% off until October 31st only!)